Controlled thermal coefficient product system and method

ABSTRACT

A controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing system and method is disclosed. The disclosed product relates to the manufacture of metallic material product (MMP) having a thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) in a predetermined range. The disclosed system and method provides for a first material deformation (FMD) of the MMP that comprises at least some of a first material phase (FMP) wherein the FMP comprises martensite randomly oriented and a first thermal expansion coefficient (FTC). In response to the FMD at least some of the FMP is oriented in at least one predetermined orientation. Subsequent to deformation, the MMP comprises a second thermal expansion coefficient (STC) that is within a predetermined range and wherein the thermal expansion of the MMP is in at least one predetermined direction. The MMP may be comprised of a second material phase (SMP) that may or may not transform to the FMP in response to the FMD.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS U.S Patent Applications

This application is a Continuation-In-Part (CIP) patent application ofand incorporates by reference U.S. Utility Patent application forSYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORING COEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSIONBETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREME NEGATIVE VALUES by inventors JamesA. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, and Raymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTOon Dec. 11, 2015, with Ser. No. 14/897,904, and published on May 12,2016 as US20160130677A1.

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 and incorporates byreference U.S. Utility Patent application for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORTAILORING COEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE ANDEXTREME NEGATIVE VALUES by inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman,and Raymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTO on Dec. 11, 2015, with Ser.No. 14/897,904, and published on May 12, 2016 as US20160130677A1.

PCT Patent Applications

U.S. Utility patent application for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORINGCOEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREMENEGATIVE VALUES by inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, andRaymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTO on Dec. 11, 2015, with Ser. No.14/897,904, and published on May 12, 2016 as US20160130677A1 is anational stage U.S. Utility Patent application of and incorporates byreference PCT Patent Application for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORINGCOEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREMENEGATIVE VALUES by inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, andRaymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTO on Jun. 12, 2014, with serialnumber PCT/US2014/042105, and published on Dec. 18, 2014 asWO2014201239A2.

U.S. Utility Patent application for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORINGCOEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREMENEGATIVE VALUES by inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, andRaymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTO on Dec. 11, 2015, with Ser. No.14/897,904, and published on May 12, 2016 as US20160130677A1 claimsbenefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 and incorporates by reference PCT PatentApplication for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORING COEFFICIENTS OFTHERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREME NEGATIVE VALUESby inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, and Raymundo Arroyave,filed with the USPTO on Jun. 12, 2014, with serial numberPCT/US2014/042105, and published on Dec. 18, 2014 as WO2014201239A2.

Provisional Patent Applications

PCT Patent Application for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORINGCOEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREMENEGATIVE VALUES by inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, andRaymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTO on Jun. 12, 2014, with serialnumber PCT/US2014/042105, and published on Dec. 18, 2014 asWO2014201239A2 claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 and incorporates byreference United States Provisional Patent application for CONTROLLEDTHERMAL COEFFICIENT PRODUCT SYSTEM AND METHOD by inventor James A.Monroe, filed with the USPTO on Jul. 22, 2015, with Ser. No. 62/195,575,EFS ID 22993562, confirmation number 5403, docket AZTES.0101P.

U.S. Utility Patent application for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORINGCOEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREMENEGATIVE VALUES by inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, andRaymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTO on Dec. 11, 2015, with Ser. No.14/897,904, and published on May 12, 2016 as US20160130677A1 claimsbenefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 and incorporates by reference United StatesProvisional Patent application for SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TAILORINGCOEFFICIENTS OF THERMAL EXPANSION BETWEEN EXTREME POSITIVE AND EXTREMENEGATIVE VALUES by inventors James A. Monroe, Ibrahim Karaman, andRaymundo Arroyave, filed with the USPTO on Jun. 14, 2013, with Ser. No.61/835,289.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Portions of this research were sponsored by U.S. National ScienceFoundation, Division of Materials Research, Metals and MetallicNanostructures Program, Grant No. 0909170 and Division of MaterialsResearch, Office of Specific Programs, International Materials InstituteProgram, Grant DMR 08-44082.

Portions of this research were supported by National Science Foundation,Division of Materials Research, Metals and Metallic NanostructuresProgram, Grant No. 0909170, and additional support was received from theNational Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR 08-44082, which supportsthe International Materials Institute for Multi-functional Materials forEnergy Conversion (IIMEC) at Texas A&M University. The work has alsobenefited from the use of the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center at LANSCE,funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Basic EnergySciences. Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by Los AlamosNational Security LLC under U.S. DOE Contract DE-AC52-06NA25396.

PARTIAL WAIVER OF COPYRIGHT

All of the material in this patent application is subject to copyrightprotection under the copyright laws of the United States and of othercountries. As of the first effective filing date of the presentapplication, this material is protected as unpublished material.

However, permission to copy this material is hereby granted to theextent that the copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent documentation or patent disclosure,as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patentfile or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relate to the product of and systems and methodsfor the manufacture of metallic and non-metallic materials having athermal expansion coefficient (TEC) that is controlled in apredetermined range.

PRIOR ART AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The disclosure relates generally to the expansion and contraction ofmaterials in response to changes in temperature. More particularly, thedisclosure relates to systems and methods for tailoring the coefficientsof thermal expansion of metallic materials, and the directionality ofthermal expansion and contraction of metallic materials, in response tochanges in temperature.

Matter has a tendency to change volume in response to changes intemperature, a phenomenon often referred to as thermal expansion. Mostmaterials respond to a decrease in temperature by contracting (areduction in volume) and respond to an increase in temperature byexpanding (an increase in volume). The degree of thermal expansion of amaterial is typically characterized by the material's coefficient ofthermal expansion, which may be influenced by a variety of factors suchas the temperature applied, deformation applied, material composition,as well as any previous processing of that material. Since thermalexpansion affects the dimensions of materials subjected to variations intemperature, it can be a significant factor in selecting materials foruse in structures and devices.

DEFICIENCIES IN THE PRIOR ART

Prior art materials typically suffer from the following characteristicdeficiencies:

-   -   Prior art materials have a coefficient of thermal expansion        (CTE) that cannot accurately be controlled.    -   Prior art materials have a coefficient of thermal expansion        (CTE) that cannot be controlled across one or more axes of        expansion.    -   Prior art materials have a coefficient of thermal expansion        (CTE) that cannot be tailored to provide a customized expansion        coefficient across one or more axes of expansion.    -   Prior art materials cannot provide a zero coefficient of thermal        expansion (CTE) over one or more axes of expansion.

To date the prior art has not fully addressed these deficiencies.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the objectives of the present invention are (among others)to circumvent the deficiencies in the prior art and affect the followingobjectives:

-   -   (1) Provide for a controlled thermal coefficient material and        system/method for producing same that have a coefficient of        thermal expansion (CTE) that can accurately be controlled    -   (2) Provide for a controlled thermal coefficient material and        system/method for producing same in which the coefficient of        thermal expansion (CTE) can be controlled across one or more        axes of expansion.    -   (3) Provide for a controlled thermal coefficient material and        system/method for producing same in which the coefficient of        thermal expansion (CTE) can be tailored to provide a customized        expansion coefficient across one or more axes of expansion.    -   (4) Provide for a controlled thermal coefficient material and        system/method for producing same that can produce a zero        coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) across one or more axes        of expansion.

While these objectives should not be understood to limit the teachingsof the present invention, in general these objectives are achieved inpart or in whole by the disclosed invention that is discussed in thefollowing sections. One skilled in the art will no doubt be able toselect aspects of the present invention as disclosed to affect anycombination of the objectives described above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Invention Methodology

The present invention generally addresses the need for manufacturingproducts having a known Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) in thefollowing manner. Product requirements for CTE are first determined andfrom this and other product requirements a potential group of alloys orother materials is selected for processing. From this potential group ofmaterials ingots are prepared. After ingot preparation is complete, theingots are processed using a variety of thermal and/or mechanicalprocesses to produce a target material having the desired CTE withrespect to X-Y-Z axis coordinates. The processed ingots are then putthrough a product manufacturing cycle to produce the final manufacturedproduct. This final manufactured product conforms to the CTErequirements as first determined above.

EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing a metallic material with athermal expansion coefficient in a predetermined range, comprising:deforming a metallic material comprising a first phase and a firstthermal expansion coefficient; transforming, in response to thedeforming, at least some of the first phase into a second phase, whereinthe second phase comprises martensite; and orienting the metallicmaterial in at least one predetermined orientation, wherein the metallicmaterial, subsequent to deformation, comprises a second thermalexpansion coefficient, wherein the second thermal expansion coefficientis within a predetermined range, and wherein the thermal expansion is inat least one predetermined direction.

In an alternate embodiment, a method of manufacturing a metallicmaterial with a thermal expansion coefficient in a predetermined range,comprising: deforming a metallic material by applying tension in a firstdirection, wherein the metallic material substantially comprises a firstphase, and wherein applying the tension transforms at least some of thefirst phase into a second phase; and wherein, subsequent to deformation,the metallic material comprises a negative coefficient of thermalexpansion within a predetermined range, wherein the negative thermalexpansion is in at least the first direction.

In an alternate embodiment, method of manufacturing a metallic materialwith a thermal expansion coefficient in a predetermined rangecomprising: deforming a metallic material, wherein the metallic materialprior to deforming substantially comprises a first phase, and whereindeforming the metallic material transforms at least some of the firstphase into a second phase using a compressive force in a firstdirection; wherein, subsequent to deformation, the metallic materialcomprises a negative coefficient of thermal expansion within apredetermined range; and wherein, subsequent to deformation, thenegative thermal expansion of the metallic material is in at least asecond direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to thefirst direction.

In an alternate embodiment, a method of manufacturing a metallicmaterial with a thermal expansion coefficient in a predetermined range,comprising: deforming a metallic material comprising a first thermalexpansion coefficient, wherein the metallic material comprises amartensitic phase, wherein the metallic material is oriented in at leastone predetermined orientation in response to the deforming; wherein themetallic material, subsequent to deformation, comprises a second thermalexpansion coefficient, wherein the second thermal expansion coefficientis within a predetermined range, and wherein the thermal expansion is inat least one predetermined direction.

EMBODIMENT SUMMARY

Embodiments described herein comprise a combination of features andadvantages intended to address various shortcomings associated withcertain prior devices, systems, and methods. The foregoing has outlinedrather broadly the features and technical advantages of the invention inorder that the detailed description of the invention that follows may bebetter understood. The various characteristics described above, as wellas other features, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artupon reading the following detailed description, and by referring to theaccompanying drawings. It should be appreciated by those skilled in theart that the conception and the specific embodiments disclosed may bereadily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structuresfor carrying out the same purposes of the invention. It should also berealized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructionsdo not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth inthe appended claims.

While preferred embodiments will be shown and described, modificationsthereof can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from thescope or teachings herein. The embodiments described herein areexemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modificationsof the systems, apparatus, and processes described herein are possibleand are within the scope of the invention. For example, the relativedimensions of various parts, the materials from which the various partsare made, and other parameters can be varied. Accordingly, the scope ofprotection is not limited to the embodiments described herein, but isonly limited by the claims that follow, the scope of which shall includeall equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. Unless expresslystated otherwise, the steps in a method claim may be performed in anyorder. The recitation of identifiers such as (a), (b), (c) or (1), (2),(3) before steps in a method claim are not intended to and do notspecify a particular order to the steps, but rather are used to simplifysubsequent reference to such steps.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the advantages provided by the invention,reference should be made to the following detailed description togetherwith the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic three-dimensional view illustrating thethermal expansion of monoclinic lattice structures according toembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic three-dimensional view illustrating thethermal expansion of orthorhombic lattice structures according toembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic three-dimensional view illustrating thethermal expansion of tetragonal lattice structures according toembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a graphical illustration of an x-ray diffractionpatterns of an alloy system in a martensitic phase taken at varioustemperatures according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates the thermally induced lattice strain calculated usingx-ray diffraction under 0 MPa according to embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical illustration of macroscopic strain vstemperature and the corresponding thermal expansion of an unprocessed,14% cold rolled, SMA trained and 200 MPa loaded NiTiPd materialaccording to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a graphical illustration of a monotonic tensionprocessing scheme for NiTiPd according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical illustration of a monotonic tensionprocessing scheme for NiTiPd according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a graphical illustration of a resulting thermalexpansion responses for NiTiPd according to embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a graphical illustration of pole figures before andafter cold-working an exemplary material according to embodiments of thedisclosure (part 1/4);

FIG. 11 illustrates a graphical illustration of pole figures before andafter cold-working an exemplary material according to embodiments of thedisclosure (part 2/4);

FIG. 12 illustrates a graphical illustration of pole figures before andafter cold-working an exemplary material according to embodiments of thedisclosure (part 3/4);

FIG. 13 illustrates a graphical illustration of pole figures before andafter cold-working an exemplary material according to embodiments of thedisclosure (part 4/4);

FIG. 14 illustrates a composite material with tailored thermal expansionaccording to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 15 illustrates a composite material with tailored thermal expansionaccording to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 16 illustrates two embodiment summaries of methods for tailoringthermal expansion according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 17 illustrates crystallographic relationships between cubicaustenite, disordered BCC TiNb and ordered B2 NiTiPd and CoNiGa, andmartensite, disordered orthorhombic TiNb; ordered B19 NiTiPd and orderedL1₀ CoNiGa;

FIG. 18 illustrates crystallographic relationships between cubicaustenite, disordered BCC TiNb and ordered B2 NiTiPd and CoNiGa, andmartensite, disordered orthorhombic TiNb; ordered B19 NiTiPd and orderedL1₀ CoNiGa;

FIG. 19 illustrates crystallographic relationships between cubicaustenite, disordered BCC TiNb and ordered B2 NiTiPd and CoNiGa, andmartensite, disordered orthorhombic TiNb; ordered B19 NiTiPd and orderedL1₀ CoNiGa;

FIG. 20 illustrates Indexed diffraction patterns for NiTiPd and TiNb at300K and CoNiGa at 4K;

FIG. 21 illustrates thermal expansion along different crystallographicplanes, depicting lattice strain between different crystallographicplanes for martensitic CoNiGa between 4K-285K, TiNb between 303K-473K,and NiTiPd between 303K-433K;

FIG. 22 illustrates graphic thermal expansion magnitudes for NiTiPddepicting three dimensional ellipsoids showing the positive and negativethermal expansion magnitudes along different crystallographic directionsfor orthorhombic NiTiPd across all experimental temperatures shown inFIG. 20 (2000), tetragonal CoNiGa at 260K and orthorhombic TiNb at 473K(these figures were created using Coefficient of Thermal ExpansionAnalysis Suite (CTEAS) software);

FIG. 23 illustrates graphic thermal expansion magnitudes for CoNiGadepicting three dimensional ellipsoids showing the positive and negativethermal expansion magnitudes along different crystallographic directionsfor orthorhombic NiTiPd across all experimental temperatures shown inFIG. 20 (2000), tetragonal CoNiGa at 260K and orthorhombic TiNb at 473K(these figures were created using Coefficient of Thermal ExpansionAnalysis Suite (CTEAS) software);

FIG. 24 illustrates graphic thermal expansion magnitudes for TiNbdepicting are three dimensional ellipsoids showing the positive andnegative thermal expansion magnitudes along different crystallographicdirections for orthorhombic NiTiPd across all experimental temperaturesshown in FIG. 20 (2000), tetragonal CoNiGa at 260K and orthorhombic TiNbat 473K (these figures were created using Coefficient of ThermalExpansion Analysis Suite (CTEAS) software);

FIG. 25 illustrates macroscopic strain vs temperature response oftensile pre-strained NiTiPd before and after deformation;

FIG. 26 illustrates macroscopic strain vs temperature response of coldrolled TiNb before and after deformation;

FIG. 27 illustrates a table depicting thermal expansion, austenite andmartensite lattice parameters, and lattice parameter comparison (thenegative thermal expansion (NTE) criteria l^(A)−l^(M) and β^(A)−β^(M)are given in Å and degrees, respectively; the high symmetry, austenite(A), and low symmetry, martensite (M), states' lattice parameters forCoNiGa, TiNb, NiTiPd, U¹⁴ and PbTiO₃ ¹⁰ taken 10° C. above and belowtheir respective martensitic transformation temperatures; the NiTi¹³martensite's lattice parameters were taken at room temperature);

FIG. 28 illustrates rotation matrices that map the austenite to themartensite basis;

FIG. 29 illustrates macroscopic coefficients of thermal expansion vs.deformation percent for bulk NiTiPd alloys;

FIG. 30 illustrates macroscopic coefficients of thermal expansion vs.deformation percent for bulk TiNb alloys;

FIG. 31 illustrates TiNb inverse pole figures showing the textureevolution from 0%, 20% and 50% cold rolling;

FIG. 32 illustrates Thermal expansion vs. thermal conductivity forvarious materials (this chart compares the thermal expansion andconductivity of negative thermal expansion PbTiO₃, ZrW₂O₈ andmartensitic materials to traditional positive thermal expansionmaterials in the Granta Design CES materials database);

FIG. 33 illustrates an overview flowchart depicting a preferredexemplary controlled thermal expansion manufacturing method useful insome preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 34 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialselection overview method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(1/3);

FIG. 35 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialselection overview method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(2/3);

FIG. 36 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialselection overview method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(3/3);

FIG. 37 illustrates a stress-strain graph for determination of yieldstrength by the offset method;

FIG. 38 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialselection detail method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(1/3);

FIG. 39 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialselection detail method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(2/3);

FIG. 40 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialselection detail method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(3/3);

FIG. 41 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialpreparation overview method useful in some preferred inventionembodiments (1/3);

FIG. 42 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialpreparation overview method useful in some preferred inventionembodiments (2/3);

FIG. 43 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary materialpreparation overview method useful in some preferred inventionembodiments (3/3);

FIG. 44 illustrates top and bottom right perspective views of adirectional solidification furnace (DSF) useful in many preferredinvention embodiments;

FIG. 45 illustrates top front and top right sectional perspective viewsof a directional solidification furnace (DSF) useful in many preferredinvention embodiments depicting initial creation of a cast ingot;

FIG. 46 illustrates top front and top right sectional perspective viewsof a directional solidification furnace (DSF) useful in many preferredinvention embodiments depicting extension and removal of a cast ingot;

FIG. 47 illustrates a side sectional view of a directional furnaceuseful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 48 illustrates a side sectional view of a directional furnaceuseful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 49 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring overview method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(1/3);

FIG. 50 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring overview method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(2/3);

FIG. 51 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring overview method useful in some preferred invention embodiments(3/3);

FIG. 52 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring heat treatment selection detail method useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (1/2);

FIG. 53 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring heat treatment selection detail method useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (2/2);

FIG. 54 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring deformation process detail method useful in some preferredinvention embodiments (1/3);

FIG. 55 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring deformation process detail method useful in some preferredinvention embodiments (2/3);

FIG. 56 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplary CTEtailoring deformation process detail method useful in some preferredinvention embodiments (3/3);

FIG. 57 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplarycomponent fabrication overview method useful in some preferred inventionembodiments (1/2);

FIG. 58 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplarycomponent fabrication overview method useful in some preferred inventionembodiments (2/2);

FIG. 59 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplarycomponent fabrication detail method useful in some preferred inventionembodiments (1/2);

FIG. 60 illustrates a flowchart depicting a preferred exemplarycomponent fabrication detail method useful in some preferred inventionembodiments (2/2);

FIG. 61 illustrates a Ti—Nb phase diagram showing the alpha, beta, andliquid transitions as a function of relative composition;

FIG. 62 illustrates a top right front perspective and top leftperspective sectional views depicting a typical rolling deformationprocess;

FIG. 63 illustrates a top left front perspective and top leftperspective sectional views depicting a typical rolling deformationprocess;

FIG. 64 illustrates front view depicting a typical rolling deformationprocess;

FIG. 65 illustrates a top left front perspective view of a directextrusion system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 66 illustrates a top right front perspective view of a directextrusion system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 67 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa direct extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 68 illustrates a top right front perspective top section view of adirect extrusion system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 69 illustrates a top left front perspective assembly view of adirect extrusion system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 70 illustrates a top left front perspective front section assemblyview of a direct extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 71 illustrates a top right front perspective assembly view of adirect extrusion system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 72 illustrates a top right front perspective top section assemblyview of a direct extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 73 illustrates a top left front perspective view of an indirectextrusion system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 74 illustrates a top right front perspective view of an indirectextrusion system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 75 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofan indirect extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 76 illustrates a top right front perspective top section view of anindirect extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 77 illustrates a top left front perspective assembly view of anindirect extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 78 illustrates a top left front perspective front section assemblyview of an indirect extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 79 illustrates a top right front perspective assembly view of anindirect extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 80 illustrates a top right front perspective top section assemblyview of an indirect extrusion system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 81 illustrates a top right front perspective view of a drawingsystem useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 82 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa drawing system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 83 illustrates a top left front perspective view of a drawingsystem useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 84 illustrates a top left front perspective top section view of adrawing system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 85 illustrates a front section view of a drawing system useful insome preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 86 illustrates a front left perspective and front right perspectiveviews of a die from a drawing system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 87 illustrates various section perspective views of a die from adrawing system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 88 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa drawn material operated on by a drawing system useful in somepreferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 89 illustrates a top right front perspective exploded view of adeep drawing system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 90 illustrates a top right front perspective front view of anassembled deep drawing system useful in some preferred inventionembodiments;

FIG. 91 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa deep drawn material operated on by a drawing system useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (drawing position 1/6—blank retained byblank holder);

FIG. 92 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa deep drawn material operated on by a drawing system useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (drawing position 2/6);

FIG. 93 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa deep drawn material operated on by a drawing system useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (drawing position 3/6);

FIG. 94 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa deep drawn material operated on by a drawing system useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (drawing position 4/6);

FIG. 95 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa deep drawn material operated on by a drawing system useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (drawing position 5/6);

FIG. 96 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa deep drawn material operated on by a drawing system useful in somepreferred invention embodiments (drawing position 6/6—fully formedblank);

FIG. 97 illustrates a top right front perspective view of a forgingsystem and resulting exemplary work product useful in some preferredinvention embodiments;

FIG. 98 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofa forging system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 99 illustrates a bottom right front perspective view of a forgingsystem and resulting exemplary work product useful in some preferredinvention embodiments;

FIG. 100 illustrates a bottom right front perspective top section viewof a forging system useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 101 illustrates a top right front perspective view of tensiledeformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 102 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view oftensile deformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 103 illustrates a top right front perspective top section view oftensile deformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 104 illustrates a front section view of tensile deformation usefulin some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 105 illustrates a top right front perspective view of torsionaldeformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 106 illustrates a top left front perspective front view oftorsional deformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 107 illustrates a top view of torsional deformation useful in somepreferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 108 illustrates a front perspective section view of torsionaldeformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 109 illustrates a top right front perspective view of swagingdeformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 110 illustrates a top right front perspective front section view ofswaging deformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 111 illustrates a top right front perspective top view of swagingdeformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments (with severalswaging bars removed);

FIG. 112 illustrates a top right front perspective top section view ofswaging deformation useful in some preferred invention embodiments (withseveral swaging bars removed);

FIG. 113 illustrates the use of bending material deformation that may beused with some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 114 illustrates equations relating to the bending deformationdepicted in FIG. 113;

FIG. 115 illustrates the use of bending material deformation that may beused with some preferred invention embodiments and associated materialspring-back characteristics;

FIG. 116 illustrates stamping material deformation using a stampingpress that may be used with some preferred invention embodiments;

FIG. 117 illustrates deformation in three directions of a materialrepresented by displacements u_(x), u_(y), and u_(z) in the threeprinciple material directions using Cartesian coordinates x, y and z;

FIG. 118 illustrates the effects of rolling on the crystal structure ofa material;

FIG. 119 illustrates various effects that bending causes non-uniformdeformation along the bending radius of a material;

FIG. 120 illustrates various stress and strain effects of bending on amaterial;

FIG. 121 illustrates a block diagram of a preferred exemplary inventionsystem as applied to a manufacturing system configured to produce amaterial having a controlled thermal expansion coefficient;

FIG. 122 illustrates a flowchart of a preferred exemplary inventionmethod as applied to a manufacturing system configured to produce amaterial having a controlled thermal expansion coefficient;

FIG. 123 illustrates a schematic of an exemplary vacuum inductionmelting furnace (VMF) useful in some invention embodiments;

FIG. 124 illustrates a schematic of an exemplary rolling mill (RM)useful in some invention embodiments;

FIG. 125 illustrates a schematic of an exemplary shear press and anexemplary hydraulic tensioner (HT) useful in some invention embodiments;

FIG. 126 illustrates a schematic of an exemplary hydraulic tensioner(HT) useful in some invention embodiments;

FIG. 127 illustrates a depiction of an exemplary CNC mill (CCM) usefulin some invention embodiments; and

FIG. 128 illustrates a schematic of an exemplary laser cutter (LC) headuseful in some invention embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EM

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetailed preferred embodiment of the invention with the understandingthat the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification ofthe principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broadaspect of the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will bedescribed with particular reference to the presently preferredembodiment, wherein these innovative teachings are advantageouslyapplied to the particular problems of a CONTROLLED THERMAL COEFFICIENTPRODUCT SYSTEM AND METHOD. However, it should be understood that thisembodiment is only one example of the many advantageous uses of theinnovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in thespecification of the present application do not necessarily limit any ofthe various claimed inventions. Moreover, some statements may apply tosome inventive features but not to others.

NOMENCLATURE INTERPRETATION

The following discussion is directed to various exemplary embodiments.However, one skilled in the art will understand that the examplesdisclosed herein have broad applications, and that the discussion of anyembodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and notintended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including theclaims, is limited to that embodiment.

Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claimsto refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the artwill appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature orcomponent by different names. This document does not intend todistinguish between components or features that differ in name but notfunction. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certainfeatures and components herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or insomewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements maynot be shown in interest of clarity and conciseness.

In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and“comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should beinterpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, theterm “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect ordirect connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device,that connection may be through a direct connection, or through anindirect connection via other devices, components, and connections. Inaddition, as used herein, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally meanalong or parallel to a central axis (e.g., central axis of a body or aport), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally meanperpendicular to the central axis. For instance, an axial distancerefers to a distance measured along or parallel to the central axis, anda radial distance means a distance measured perpendicular to the centralaxis.

The term ‘martensite’, named after the German metallurgist Adolf Martens(1850-1914), will herein generally refer to a very hard form of steelcrystalline structure, but it may also refer to any crystal structurethat is formed by diffusionless transformation. It includes a class ofhard minerals occurring as lath- or plate-shaped crystal grains. Whenviewed in cross section, lenticular (lens-shaped) crystal grains aregenerally observed.

INTRODUCTION

Materials with negative thermal expansion (NTE) provide interestingtechnological applications where compensation of positive thermalexpansion (PTE) materials is desired and/or required. Unfortunately,most materials exhibiting NTE have low thermal conductivity and fracturetoughness (e.g., ceramics), or the NTE response is only linear over avery small temperature range (e.g., Invar alloys). As discussed in moredetail below, a large NTE or PTE response may occur along differentcrystallographic directions in the martensitic state of NiTi, NiTiPd,and NiMnGa SMAs as well as other materials capable of undergoing amartensitic transformation. This has sparked our interest into theunique thermal-mechanical properties of these materials. Manipulatingthe martensite's texture in these alloys can result in macroscopic NTEmaterials that are strong, ductile, and thermally/electricallyconductive. This may be referred to as “tailored” thermal expansionsince the embodiments of systems and methods disclosed herein can beused to manufacture materials with a thermal expansion coefficientwithin a predetermined range, at a target, or at a target with atolerance, and further, can be used to manufacture materials withthermal expansion in a predetermined direction(s) or within apredetermined ranges of degrees relative to a direction.

While most materials contract with decreasing temperature and expandwith an increase in thermal temperature, some materials contract withincreasing temperature. However, this behavior is usually limited to acertain temperature range or to materials that may not be suitable for awide range of applications. This contraction upon heating is termednegative thermal expansion (NTE), whereas expansion upon heating istermed positive thermal expansion (PTE). In general, the sign of thecoefficient of thermal expansion, positive or negative, indicateswhether the thermal expansion is negative or positive, respectively. Theterms coefficient of thermal expansion and negative thermal expansionmay be used interchangeably herein, it being understood that negativethermal expansion means that the material has a negative coefficient ofthermal expansion. Conventionally, a low thermal expansion material suchas Invar alloy (Fe₆₄Ni₃₆) may be used when negative thermal expansionproperties are desired for a particular application. Invar, also knowngenerically as FeNi₃₆ (₆₄FeNi in the U.S.), is a nickel-iron alloynotable for its uniquely low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE orα). The name Invar comes from the word invariable, referring to itsrelative lack of expansion or contraction with temperature changes.Various grades of Invar may have negative thermal expansion propertiesnear room temperature; <2×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ as compared to other metallicmaterials which are closer to 10-20×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹. However, this negativethermal expansion only occurs over a relatively small temperature range,and further, Invar may have a propensity to creep. Conventionally,ceramic materials may be used if negative thermal expansion is desiredfor an application. However, these materials typically cannot be used inapplications with tension and compression stresses comparable to what ametallic material can withstand, nor in the same extreme conditions as ametallic material.

Embodiments of systems and methods described herein are used to producemetallic materials that, alone or as part of a composite, have tailoredthermal expansion properties. More specifically, the material type,composition, phase, processing, or combinations thereof are consideredand used in concert to produce a metallic material having apredetermined coefficient of thermal expansion that can be negative orpositive. In addition, the direction (in three dimensional space) andextent (degree) of the positive or negative coefficient of thermalexpansion are tailored. Although negative thermal expansion ispredominantly discussed herein, embodiments of the systems and methodsdisclosed herein can also be used to tailor positive thermal expansion.

PRESENT INVENTION THERMAL CHARACTERISTICS

In embodiments described herein, variable thermal expansion propertiesare obtained from various metallic alloys through processing techniquessuch as cold rolling, wire drawing, extrusion, tensile loading andseveral other thermo-mechanical processing techniques. The mechanismresponsible for these unique linear thermal expansion properties isdifferent from traditional Invar alloys and can be tailored to aspecific application. In general, the linear thermal expansionproperties can be varied between extremely negative and extremelypositive values, for example, anywhere between −150×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ and+500×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹, by selecting the suitable alloy composition andprocessing route. By comparison, mild steel has a thermal expansion of+12×10⁶K⁻¹.

Product-by-Process Material Exemplary Applications

The unique materials and processing routes disclosed herein allow fornew solutions to various engineering problems such as thermal mismatchbetween silicon chips and packaging in the electronics industry,interconnect failures, mitigation of thermal sagging in overhead powertransmission lines, solar panel failures, pipes, plumbing, chemicalprocessing hardware, and thermal expansion valves in variousapplications including aerospace. In addition, the methods disclosedherein can be used to tailor the coefficient of thermal expansion to be0 or negative for support cabling as well as pipe couplings and sealsfor aero, oil and gas, other extreme environments, satelliteapplications, electronics where there are interconnects, solar panels,power transmission lines, and switches.

Material Application Contexts

In general, embodiments described herein can be applied to alloys thatundergo a martensitic transformation such as Fe-, Cu-, Ni-, Ti-, Pd-,Pt-, Mn-, Au-, and Co-based alloys, which have various densities andmagnetic, thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. This allowsextreme flexibility in developing tailored thermal expansion alloys fora specific application and at a reduced cost. The alloys processed inaccordance with embodiments described herein to tailor their thermalexpansion properties are commercially available, or can easily befabricated with classical metallurgical techniques, as are theprocessing techniques with respect to the hot and cold-formingdeformation discussed herein. It should also be appreciated that methodsdescribed herein can also be used to recover/repurpose secondarymaterial, which may have conventionally been sold at a reduced price oreven at a loss to the manufacturer. In one embodiment, shape-memoryalloys (SMAs) can be processed as described herein to exhibit negativethermal expansion properties.

The present invention techniques described herein, which enable thetailored thermal expansion properties, is believed to occur in allmartensitic SMAs, and has been demonstrated and verified in a variety ofmetallic materials including NiTi, NiTiPd, NiTiPt, NiMnGa, NiCoMnIn,CoNiGa and FeNiCoAlTa SMAs. These materials represent a variety ofelement types and crystal structures, which indicates that this is auniversal principle of materials that undergo martensitictransformation. Listed below are a variety of materials that undergomartensitic transformation and materials that show martensitictransformation that are considered to have anisotropic thermal expansionproperties: Ti_(100-A)X_(A) (X=at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt,or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 75 atomic percent composition),Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe,Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55 atomic percentcomposition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au,Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55 atomicpercent composition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent composition such thatA+B<100), Ti_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Al, Sn, Nb, Zr, Mo,Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, 0, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55atomic percent composition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent composition suchthat A+B<100), Ni_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, In, Sn,Al, Sb, Co, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C) (X=at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb,or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B=0 toatomic percent composition, and C=0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A+B+C<100), Ni_(100-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) (A=0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Cu_(100-A)X_(A) (X=at least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinationsthereof) (A=0 to 75 atomic percent composition), Cu_(100-B)Al_(A)X_(B)(X=at least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50atomic percent composition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition suchthat A+B<100), Cu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C) (X=at least one of Zn,Ni, Be, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition,B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C=0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A+B+C<100), Co_(100-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least oneof Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomicpercent composition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatA+B<100), Fe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al, Ta,Si, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition andB=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, orcombinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition and B=0 to50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D) (X=at least one of Ti, Ta, Nb, Cr,W or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B=0 to50 atomic percent composition, C=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, andD to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B+C+D<100),Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D) (X=at least one of Al, Ta, Nb, Cr,W or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B=0 to50 atomic percent composition, C=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, andD=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B+C+D<100) andcombinations thereof.

Exemplary Thermal Coefficient Values

Embodiments of systems and methods disclosed herein utilize someconventional equipment and techniques but in such a way to tailor andexpand the range of temperature where tailored and negative thermalexpansion occurs in metallic materials other than Invar. Such negative(or positive) thermal expansion properties can be customized andtailored to a predetermined range, target, tolerance target, anddirection(s) based upon the method of deformation used and, in somecases, the type of alloy or composite used. This range may be extremelynegative, for example, as low as −150×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹, zero, at or about zero,or extremely positive, for example, as high as 500×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹. In oneembodiment, for some applications where two dissimilar materials arestructurally connected, it may be desirable to tailor the thermalexpansion of one to match the other, even though CTE can be still highpositive. It may be desirable to mitigate thermal expansion mismatch bytailoring TE instead of having zero or negative thermal expansion. Thetemperature range of negative TE, zero TE and tailorable TE may bedetermined by the austenite to martensite phase transformationtemperature of any given material. If this transformation temperature isfor example 500° C., then negative TE, zero TE and tailorable TE couldbe observed from this temperature down to very low temperatures belowzero.

Tailoring Composite Materials

As discussed herein, a composite material is one where at least onematerial capable of a martensitic transformation is embedded in anothermetal that may or may not be capable of the martensitic transformation,or a ceramic, or a polymer. This mechanism used for tailoring thermalexpansion may be explained in a variety of ways as discussed below,including that the martensitic transformation may have previously beendifficult to achieve because that mechanism was in competition withdislocation plasticity in the first phase. However, in the systems andmethods disclosed herein, the transformation may be more easily achievedif the alloy is strengthened against dislocation plasticity throughclassical strengthening mechanisms including precipitation hardening,solid solution hardening, dispersion hardening, and grain sizerefinement. As discussed herein, a composite material may also be amaterial where at least one material capable of a martensitictransformation, a metal that may or may not be capable of themartensitic transformation, a ceramic, or a polymer, is embedded in amaterial that has tailored thermal expansion and/or is capable ofundergoing a martensitic transformation whether or not it has undergonethat transformation when the second material is embedded.

As such, a composite material may broadly be defined as one where atleast one of the materials is a metal capable of tailored thermalexpansion via martensitic transformation or textured martensite. Thegoal of this configuration is to impose tailored thermal expansioncharacteristics to on materials that are incapable of tailored thermalexpansion.

Directional Thermal Coefficient Tailoring

By varying the tailored thermal expansion directions, one can obtainvery large, very small or zero thermal expansion is specific directions.It is also possible to create composite materials that deform in apre-determined fashion, such as bending and rotation, by combining PTEand NTE materials in a specific configuration. In one example, theresulting actuators formed from this material would work in a similarfashion to bi-metallic strips that bend when heated due to varyingpositive thermal expansion coefficients, but the range of deformationpossible with our materials would be much larger due to the very largerange between PTE and NTE that can be obtained in our materials.

Tailoring Processes

Several processing routes are disclosed to obtain tailored thermalexpansion properties in bulk materials, but each generally relies on thefundamental principle of texturing (also referred to as orientating,re-orienting, and de-twinning) the martensitic phase in at least onedirection. The bulk material will then have an anisotropic thermalexpansion response that is the sum of the various oriented crystallites.The processing techniques include, without limitation:

-   -   rolling;    -   wire drawing;    -   conventional extrusion;    -   equal channel angular extrusion;    -   precipitation heat treatments under stress;    -   monotonic tension/compression processing;    -   cyclic thermal training under stress (subsequently referred to        as SMA training);        as well as other thermo-mechanical methods of deformation.        Deformation techniques may also include:    -   hot-rolling;    -   cold-rolling;    -   plain strain compression;    -   bi-axial tension;    -   conform processing;    -   bending;    -   drawing;    -   swaging;    -   annealing;    -   sintering;    -   monotonic tension processing;    -   monotonic compression processing;    -   monotonic torsion processing;    -   cyclic thermal training under stress; and    -   combinations thereof.

Phase Transformations

While in some embodiments, a first phase, such as austenite, istransformed in whole or in part to martensite, and therefore materialscapable of this transformation would be selected for deformation toachieve a tailored thermal expansion coefficient and direction. In otherembodiments, the material is already in a martensitic phase, and thus,no austenite to martensite transformation occurs.

Formation Techniques

By applying these processing techniques at various temperatures, one canobtain desired macroscopic thermal expansion properties. Rolling, wiredrawing, and conventional extrusion are very common techniques for metalforming. They rely on plastic deformation by forcing the materialthrough consecutively smaller gaps which usually result in highlytextured materials. For example, a very strong [111] texture can becreated by extruding or wire drawing a BCC alloy. While knowndeformation methods may be discussed herein, the use of thosemethods/techniques to orient/texture martensite variants purely for thepurpose of obtaining a pre-determined (tailored) negative thermalexpansion is new.

Less common techniques that can be used to texture martensite throughplastic deformation are equal-channel-angular extrusion and monotonictension/compression. For equal-channel-angular extrusion, a metal billetis forced through a 90 degree bend which aligns martensite grains. Theadvantage to this technique is the material's cross-sectional area isnot changed after processing. Monotonic tension or compression involvesapplying tension or compression forces in a single direction to orientmartensite variants

SMA training forces an oriented martensite structure to be formed upontransformation, and involves holding a sample under constant load andheating/cooling across the martensitic transformation temperatures. Thisforces small amounts of plastic deformation that favor martensiteorientation and can produce a tailored thermal expansion.

In precipitation heat treatments, a material under a load is heated totemperatures sufficient to precipitate small secondary phases thatstress the material after cooling. The load orients the precipitateswhile they are forming. They will in turn orient martensite with theoriented stresses created during cooling.

Thermal Expansion (0100)-(0300)

FIG. 1 (0100)-FIG. 3 (0300) depict the thermal expansion for differentlattice structures. FIG. 1 (0100)-FIG. 3 (0300) are schematicthree-dimensional views illustrating the thermal expansion in themartensite of different monoclinic NiTi, orthorhombic NiTiPd andtetragonal CoNiGa. FIG. 1 (0100) displays the thermal expansiondirections along the martensite's different crystallographic directionsdetermined from neutron diffraction for NiTi. FIG. 1 (0100) illustratesthree sides of the structure a, b, and c which also indicate and may bereferred to as directions a, b, and c. The arrows show that thermalexpansion occurs along the b and c directions while contraction occursalong the a-direction. The underlying mechanism for this anisotropy wasnot previously understood, but an anisotropic statistical thermodynamicsbased model can predict these directions for various shape memoryalloys.

The traditional SMA NiTi has also shown that the low symmetry monoclinicmartensitic phase has a large linear NTE along the a-axis and positivethermal expansion (PTE) along the b-axis and c-axis in a 40 K range fromknown neutron diffraction data that directly examine the plane spacingof the B19′ (monoclinic) structure. The thermal expansion tensordetermined from this is:

$\begin{matrix}{ɛ = {\begin{bmatrix}{- 47.2} & 0 & 29 \\0 & 43.8 & 0 \\29 & 0 & 22.7\end{bmatrix} \times 10^{- 6}\frac{1}{K}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

This result shows that NTE and PTE anisotropy is not limited only toalpha Uranium in metals. It is also important to note the largemagnitude of these thermal expansion values. In comparison, mild steelhas a thermal expansion coefficient ˜12×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ in the same temperaturerange. FIG. 1 (0100) gives a graphic representation of the straindirections during heating as they relate to the martensite's monoclinicunit cell as determined from known neutron diffraction data. By takingthe Eigen values and vectors of the thermal expansion matrix, theprinciple expansion magnitudes and directions can be obtained:

$\begin{matrix}{{{eigen\_ value}(ɛ)} = {\begin{bmatrix}{- 57.7} & 0 & 0 \\0 & 43.8 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 33.2\end{bmatrix} \times 10^{- 6}\frac{1}{K}}} & (2) \\{{{eigen\_ vector}(ɛ)} = \begin{bmatrix}{- 0.94} & 0 & {- 0.34} \\0 & 1 & 0 \\0.34 & 0 & {- 0.94}\end{bmatrix}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

This shows that the maximum linear NTE that can be obtained inmartensitic NiTi is −57.7×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ and the maximum PTE is 43.8×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹.By taking the trace of the Eigen thermal expansion tensor, a positivevolumetric expansion of 19.3×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ was obtained which shows thatwhile there is contraction in one direction, there is an overallvolumetric expansion of the martensite with increasing temperature. TheEigen vectors show that only a small counter clockwise rotation aboutthe b axis is required to obtain the principle thermal expansions.

While the thermal expansion anisotropy provides the potential for NTEmaterials, randomly oriented variants do not provide macroscopic NTE. Toobserve this behavior, the trace of the principle thermal expansiontensor must be negative. This behavior has not been observed in any ofthe alloys explored in this work. As a result, special processing isnecessary to observe tailored thermal expansion properties at themacroscopic level.

Alloy Variants

The methods and systems disclosed herein may be utilized on alloysincluding Fe- and Co-based alloys, Ni-based alloy, shape-memory alloys,and pure materials such as pure Uranium. While in the low temperaturemartensite phase, the high temperature austenite phase is constantlysampled by random thermal fluctuations. This is similar to thewell-established idea that a liquid phase will sample its crystallineform due to random thermal fluctuations, but this sample is quicklydestroyed by other random thermal fluctuations. The sampling rate isdependent upon the free energy difference between the two phases and thetemperature at which the sampling is taking place. The free energydifference can be thought of the activation energy for sampling whileheat is the energy available for sampling. The sampling will then be arandom process that can be described by a probability function:

$\begin{matrix}{f^{A} = {{Be}\frac{{- \Delta}\; G^{M\rightarrow A}}{RT}}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

where ƒ^(A) is the probability of sampling austenite while in the lowtemperature martensite state where B is a scaling factor, R is the idealgas constant, T is temperature and ΔG_(M→A) is the temperature dependentdifference in free energy between the martensite and austenite phases.

The statistical thermodynamic model for anisotropic material is derivedfrom a conventional thermodynamic model for isotropic behavior thatdescribes isotropic negative thermal expansion. However, instead ofisotropic volume and generic phases that may or may not be austenite andmartensite, the proposed model uses a lattice parameter tensor, a_(ij),and austenite and martensite crystal lattices as described below tounderstand the anisotropic nature of the thermal expansion. Stateddifferently, the formula conventionally applied to isotropic materialsis applied to anisotropic material:

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{ɛ_{ij}{a_{ij}(T)}} = {ɛ_{ij}^{M}{a_{ij}^{M}(T)}}} \\{+ {f^{A}\left\lbrack {{R_{ij}^{A\rightarrow M}ɛ_{ij}^{A}{a_{ij}^{A}(T)}} - {ɛ_{ij}^{A}{a_{ij}^{A}(T)}}} \right\rbrack}} \\{+ {\frac{\partial f^{A}}{\partial T}\left\lbrack {{R_{ij}^{A\rightarrow M}ɛ_{ij}^{A}{a_{ij}^{A}(T)}} - {ɛ_{ij}^{A}{a_{ij}^{A}(T)}}} \right\rbrack}}\end{matrix} & (5)\end{matrix}$

where M designates martensite, A designates austenite, ƒ^(A) is theprobability function defined as above, ε_(ij) is the tensor describinglattice parameters, is the thermal expansion tensor and R_(ij) ^(A→M) isa rotation matrix that maps vectors from the austenite to the martensitelattice. The function ƒ^(A) is the probability of sampling austenitewhile in the low temperature martensite state where B is a scalingfactor, R is the ideal gas constant, T is temperature, and ΔG^(M→A) isthe temperature dependent difference in free energy between themartensite and austenite phases. As such, this thermodynamic model hasbeen expanded from the previous work to include anisotropy. This modelstates that deviation from the martensite phase's thermal response,ε_(ij) ^(M) a_(ij) ^(M)(T), can be obtained by sampling the hightemperature phase with a probability of f^(A). NTE is obtained alongcrystallographic directions where the austenite lattice is shorter thanthe martensite lattice and vice versa. This framework has successfullypredicted the thermal expansion anisotropy of six SMAs and pure Uraniumby comparing austenite and martensite lattice parameters.

FIG. 2 (0200) illustrates the direction of thermal expansion in NiTiPdwhere the crystal structure has three sides (a, b, and c). As such, thethermal expansion in the directions a, b, and c are not equal.

FIG. 3 (0300) illustrates the CoNiGa structure which has two equal sides(a and b) which are not equal to side c, and the resultant directions ofthermal expansion may follow accordingly. Previously, as discussedabove, this type of anisotropy had only been found in Uranium and NiTi.Using the systems and methods disclosed herein, anisotropy may also beseen in a plurality of metallic materials that undergo a martensitictransformation.

Martensitic Phase (0400)

The martensitic phase may be oriented or texturized to have ananisotropic thermal expansion response that is the sum of the variousoriented crystals. Depending upon the material used, this texturizingmay be in various directions and may be in whole or in part. In variousembodiments, the textured direction may be, for example, [111], [001],or [010].

FIG. 4 (0400) depicts a graphical illustration of x-ray diffractionpatterns take at 30° C. and 75° C. of the NiTiPd alloy system in amartensitic phase. FIG. 4 (0400) displays diffraction data for a sampleof material that is in the martensitic phase, taken from an X-Raydiffractometer using Cu K-a radiation with a constant wavelengthλ=1.5418 Å. Each peak in intensity signifies a lattice plane in themartensitic NiTiPd specimen. The peak locations (2θ) allow determinationof the lattice spacing using Bragg's law as defined by the equation:

$\begin{matrix}{d = \frac{n\; \lambda}{2\; \sin \; \theta}} & (6)\end{matrix}$

where d is the lattice spacing, λ is the radiation wavelength, θ is theangle between the radiation source and the lattice planes (taken fromthe peak location in FIG. 4 (0400)), and n is an integer. It isimportant to note that the angle θ and thus the d value does not dependon the sample's orientation in 3-D space. The peak locations shift withtemperature, and thus, the thermal expansion coefficients can becalculated from these diffraction results. This is true for alldiffraction techniques, such as high energy x-ray, electron and neutrondiffraction, that measure lattice spacing.

While the peak locations indicate the lattice planar spacing, the peakintensity, or height, indicates the number of planes oriented in aparticular direction within the sample. This intensity is then used todetermine texture; the orientation of martensite variants, orcrystallites, within the sample.

Calculating Coefficients of Thermal Expansion (0500)-(0600)

To determine the thermal expansion along different crystallographicdirections, diffraction patterns were taken between 30° C. and 100° C.,as an example, and the lattice strain defined as:

$\begin{matrix}{ɛ_{lattice} = \frac{d_{T > {30{^\circ}\mspace{14mu} {C.}}} - d_{T = {30{^\circ}\mspace{14mu} {C.}}}}{d_{T = {30{^\circ}\mspace{14mu} {C.}}}}} & (7)\end{matrix}$

where d_(T>30° C.) is the lattice spacing at temperatures above 30° C.,d_(T=30° C.) is the original lattice spacing at 30° C. It should benoted that these diffraction test were conducted under 0 MPa.

FIG. 5 (0500) shows the thermally induced lattice strain calculatedusing x-ray diffraction under 0 MPa. More specifically, FIG. 5 (0500)shows the thermally

induced lattice strain of the NiTiPd calculated using x-ray diffractionsimilar to FIG. 4 (0400) under 0 MPa.

FIG. 5 (0500) displays a lattice strain vs. temperature plot formartensite lattice parameters a, b and c and austenite lattice parameterao calculated using the lattice spacing determined from diffractionresults. Please note that the a, b and c lattice parameters correspondto the [100], [010] and [001] crystallographic directions in the crystallattice of martensite, respectively. It is clearly evident that the[100] (a) direction expands greatly while the [010] and [001] (b) and(c) directions contract showing the thermal expansion anisotropy of thismaterial. The thermal expansion matrix (e_(ij)) for the material between30° C. and 100° C. is given by:

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{\left( e_{ij} \right)_{NiTiPd} = \begin{bmatrix}ɛ_{a} & 0 & 0 \\0 & ɛ_{b} & 0 \\0 & 0 & ɛ_{c}\end{bmatrix}} \\{= {\begin{bmatrix}115.8 & 0 & 0 \\0 & {- 37.34} & 0 \\0 & 0 & {- 41.58}\end{bmatrix} \times 10^{- 6}\frac{1}{K}}}\end{matrix} & (8)\end{matrix}$

where and ε_(a), ε_(b), and ε_(c) are the thermal expansion coefficientsfor the [100], [010] and [001] directions, respectively. Note thenegative thermal expansion in the two directions.

FIG. 6 (0600) is a graphical illustration of macroscopic strain vs.temperature and the corresponding thermal expansion of an unprocessed,14% cold rolled, SMA trained, and 200 MPa loaded NiTiPd material.Interestingly, the unprocessed (as-received) thermal expansion ispositive at 14.9×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ (also expressed as 1/K) which is similar tothe ˜12×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ thermal expansion shown by mild steel. It isappreciated that “as-received material” as used herein refers tomaterial that has been formed but not further thermo-mechanicallyprocessed. This is explained by a randomly oriented martensite crystalstructure. When the material is loaded to 200 MPa, the load orientsmartensite and a −4.69×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ NTE is observed. This proves that atailored thermal expansion can be sustained under external loads. After200 SMA training cycles, the material exhibits a −7.3×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ NTE whentested under 0 MPa showing the NTE stability after a biased load isremoved. Rolling to 14% did not produce a negative thermal expansion,but a drastic reduction to 1.99×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ was achieved. It is appreciatedthat this response is better than super Invar alloy which has a thermalexpansion coefficient of 2.3×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹.

To perform texture analysis, one may focus on a single peak and see howits intensity changes as the sample is rotated in three dimensions.Since the sample is at room temperature during the analysis, the peaklocation does not change. FIG. 4 (0400) displays the as-received textureof the NiTiPd sample using the [111] and [002] peaks. It is important tocollect data on at least two peaks in order to successfully check theorientation of the crystal lattice inside the sample. The hotter colorsin the image correspond to greater peak intensity. This data suggeststhat the [111] planes and [002] planes are perpendicularly spreadbetween the transverse direction (TD) and normal direction (ND). The NDis not labeled but is the direction coming out of the page. Whiletension and compression as well as an embedded matrix embodiment arediscussed herein, a variety of thermo-mechanical processes can be usedalone or in combination to generate the phase transformation tomartensite, or that material already in the martensitic phase may betextured (oriented) in order to generate the tailored thermal expansioncoefficient and the directionality of that thermal expansion.

Monotonic Tension Processing (0700)-(0900)

FIG. 7 (0700)-FIG. 9 (0900) illustrate the results of a monotonictension processing scheme and resulting thermal expansion responses. Itis appreciated that these figures are provided for illustration as tothe mechanism is not limited to the martensitic NiTiPd alloy used in theillustrations. FIG. 7 (0700)-FIG. 9 (0900) illustrate the mechanism asit occurs under tension, the mechanism as it occurs under cold-rollingis discussed below in FIG. 10 (1000)-FIG. 13 (1300). FIG. 7 (0700)illustrates the stress-strain curve for incrementally tensile-processedsample where the sample was put under a tensile load that wasincrementally increased. FIG. 8 (0800) illustrates the heating-coolingresponse at 0 MPa after the load was removed subsequent to theincremental tensile processing. The sample was heated and cooled under 0MPa, FIG. 4B after being subjected to the incremental strains shown inFIG. 7 (0700). FIG. 8 (0800) illustrates that a tailored thermalexpansion coefficient can be obtained by varying the degree of initialstrain and that a negative thermal expansion can ultimately be reached.In one example using NiTiPd, this wide temperature range of at least upto 150° C. of linear thermal expansion is larger than that of superInvar alloys; which is limited to between 0° C. and 100° C. In otherexamples, this range may be larger. FIG. 9 (0900) shows the thermalexpansion coefficient vs. the maximum applied tensile strain. Thisfigure illustrates that the macroscopic thermal expansion coefficient islinearly related to the amount of induced strain and the crossover frompositive to negative thermal expansion occurs just above 4% strain.

Cold Working Process (1000)-(1300)

FIG. 10 (1000)-FIG. 13 (1300) are illustrations of pole figures beforeand after cold-working the material. More specifically, FIG. 10(1000)-FIG. 13 (1300) are graphical illustrations of pole figures beforeand after cold-working an exemplary material where 502 is the transversedirection, 504 is the extrusion direction and 506 is the rollingdirection.

In addition to tension and other thermo-mechanical deformationtechniques discussed above, a tailored thermal expansion may also beachieved via cold rolling (or compression). FIG. 10 (1000)-FIG. 11(1100) are pole figures which display the [111] and [002] fororthorhombic martensite in the as-received material condition.As-received condition in this particular case is hot-extruded condition,where the material was hot extruded at 900° C. The extrusion direction504 (ED) and transverse direction 502 (TD) correspond to the hotextruded directions performed prior to cutting the samples. It isevident that the [111] in FIGS. 10 (1000) and [002] planes in FIG. 11(1100) are not oriented along the extruded direction 504 and are insteadthey are oriented between the transverse direction 502 and the center ofthe pole figure.

FIG. 12 (1200)-FIG. 13 (1300) show the poles after cold-rolling. Aftercold-rolling, the sample's texture is change. It should be noted thatthe rolling direction (RD) 506 is in the same direction as the 504 EDfor the as-received material. The cold rolling produced significant[111] texturing along the normal direction (ND) while orienting the[002] planes along the RD 506. A distinct 180° rotational symmetry alongthe rolling direction axis is evident and may be a result of theoriginal texture.

Comparison of the thermal expansion is displayed in FIG. 6 (0600). Theinitial thermal expansion is 14.9×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ which changes drastically to1.99×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ with only 14% cold work. This is a lower thermal expansioncoefficient than super Invar alloy at 2.5×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ in the sametemperature range. Interestingly, the thermal expansion properties wereisotropic in the rolling plane. This is thought to occur due to thefan-like texture observed for the [002] plane after rolling (FIG. 13(1300)). The strong [111] texture aligns the positive thermal expansiondirection, [010], mostly along the ND and aligns the NTE directions,[100] and [001], mostly along the RD 506 and TD 502.

Exemplary Composite with Tailorable CTE (1400)-(1500)

FIG. 14 (1400)-FIG. 15 (1500) demonstrate a composite with tailorablethermal expansion according to embodiments disclosed herein. In FIG. 14(1400)-FIG. 15 (1500), a wire was first hot extruded and may not havehad a desired texture in martensite initially. Subsequently, the wirewas thermo-mechanically trained, segmented, and embedded in epoxy toform a composite material. The temperature was then increasedincrementally and images were taken to track the strain on the surfaceto demonstrate the behavior of the composite. FIG. 14 (1400) tracksε_(xx) and illustrates the strain along the wire direction which is thedirection along which the wire was trained under tension. FIG. 15 (1500)illustrates the strain in the direction of ε_(yy) which is the directionperpendicular to the direction of the wire-drawing. Both FIG. 14(1400)-FIG. 15 (1500) show heating from 25° C. to 100° C., and show nochange in length in FIG. 14 (1400), and FIG. 15 (1500) shows that thereis only strain in the perpendicular direction along the wire.

While FIG. 14 (1400)-FIG. 15 (1500) illustrate a material that hasundergone martensite texturing (reorienting) embedded in a polymer toform a composite material, either a material that has undergone amartensitic transformation or a material that has been texturized whilein the martensitic phase may be used to form a composite material. Thecomposite material may be formed using polymer, ceramics, other metals,and/or other metals capable of undergoing a martensitic transformation,and combinations thereof as appropriate for a particular applicationand/or end use.

Exemplary Summary Methods (1600)

FIG. 16 (1600) illustrates two summary methods (1610) and (1620) fortailoring the thermal expansion properties of a material. In method(1610), a metallic material such as a shape-memory alloy or other alloycapable of undergoing a martensitic transformation isthermo-mechanically deformed at block (1611) in order to obtain atailored thermal expansion coefficient and direction at block (1613). Inone example, NiTiPt wire was used. The term “tailored” as discussedherein refers to the ability of the methods and systems disclosed hereinto produce a thermal expansion coefficient within a predetermined rangeor to a particular value, or to a particular value with a tolerance. Inaddition, the term “tailored” may be used to refer to the direction ofthe thermal expansion. Depending upon the type of thermo-mechanicaldeformation used at block (1611) as discussed below, the thermalexpansion coefficient may be highly positive or very negative, forexample, from about −150×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to about 500×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹. As used herein,the term “about” means variation in results/properties that may resultfrom manufacturing conditions, where the “about” values are values thatare desirable and obtained from the process disclosed herein, and arevalues that are appropriate for the end application. In an embodiment,the metallic material may comprise one or more phases and thedeformation at block (1611) transforms substantially all of the metallicmaterial undergoes a transformation to the martensitic phase at block(1612). The method of thermo-mechanical deformation used may depend onthe direction and value of the thermal expansion coefficient desired, aswell as what material and material composition are used. At block(1613), in response to the formation of the martensitic phase at block(1612), the material exhibits a tailored coefficient of thermalexpansion which may also, as discussed above, be described as fallinginto a predetermined range, a target, or a target with a tolerance. Thetailored coefficient of thermal expansion may also be in a predetermineddirection or directions which, as discussed above, may be related to thedirection or directions of thermo-mechanical deformation in block(1611).

As discussed above, the metallic material may comprise any materialcapable of undergoing a martensitic transformation including but notlimited to: Ti_(100-A)X_(A) (X=at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt,or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 75 atomic percent composition),Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe,Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55 atomic percentcomposition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au,Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55 atomicpercent composition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent composition such thatA+B<100), Ti_(100-B)Ta_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Al, Sn, Nb, Zr, Mo,Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, 0, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55atomic percent composition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent composition suchthat A+B<100), Ni_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, In, Sn,Al, Sb, Co, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C) (X=at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb,or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B=0 to50 atomic percent composition, and C=0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A+B+C<100), Ni_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) (A=0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Cu_(100-A)X_(A) (X=at least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinationsthereof) (A=0 to 75 atomic percent composition), Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B)(X=at least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50atomic percent composition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition suchthat A+B<100), Cu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C) (X=at least one of Zn,Ni, Be, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition,B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C=0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A+B+C<100), Co_(100-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least oneof Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomicpercent composition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatA+B<100), Fe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al, Ta,Si, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition andB=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, orcombinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition and B=0 to50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D) (X=at least one of Ti, Ta, Nb, Cr,W or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B=0 to50 atomic percent composition, C=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, andD to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B+C+D<100),Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D) (X=at least one of Al, Ta, Nb, Cr,W or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B=0 to50 atomic percent composition, C=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, andD to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B+C+D<100), as well asderivations and combinations thereof.

Turning to method (1620), method (1620) in FIG. 16 (1600) begins atblock (1621) where the metallic material substantially comprises amartensitic phase. At block (1622), substantially all or part of themetallic material is oriented in at least one predetermined direction.The predetermined direction may be [001], [111], [010], or otherdirections depending upon the material and the method ofthermo-mechanical deformation used to orient the material. It isappreciated that the orientation at block (1622) may also be describedas texturizing, texturing, or de-twinning the material. At block (1623),in response to the orientation at block (1622), the metallic materialhas a tailored coefficient of thermal expansion and may be in adirection as discussed above with respect to block (1613) in method(1610).

The thermo-mechanical deformation technique employed at block (1612) forthe martensitic transformation and/or at block (1622) for grainorientation may be a single technique or may be a combination oftechniques. These techniques may include but are not limited to:hot-rolling, cold-rolling, wire drawing, plain strain compression,bi-axial tension, conform processing, bending, drawing, swaging,conventional extrusion, equal channel angular extrusion, precipitationheat treatment under stress, tempering, annealing, sintering, monotonictension processing, monotonic compression processing, monotonic torsionprocessing, cyclic thermal training under stress, and combinationsthereof.

Theory of Operation Overview

Current approaches to tailoring the thermal expansion coefficient ofmaterials or finding materials with negative thermal expansion rely oncareful manipulation of either the material's composition and/or thecomplex/expensive fabrication of composites. The present invention, bycontrast, utilizes a newly discovered principle that enables the precisecontrol of the thermal expansion coefficient of bulk materials viatexture manipulation. Through simple thermo-mechanical processing, ithas been found that it is possible to tailor the thermal expansioncoefficient of a single material (i.e., without manipulating itscomposition) over a wide range of (positive and negative) values. Thepresent invention demonstrate this principle with an exemplaryapplication by gradually tuning the macroscopic Coefficient of ThermalExpansion (CTE) in a model NiTiPd alloy specimen between a positive(+14.90×10⁻⁶K⁻¹) and a negative (−3.06×10⁻⁶K⁻¹) value, simply byincrementally increasing tensile plastic deformation in the martensitephase of this alloy. This surprising response is linked to the largepositive (+51.33×10⁻⁶K⁻¹) and negative (−32.51×10⁻⁶K⁻¹) CTE anisotropyalong the NiTiPd's different crystal directions in the martensite phase.Similar CTE anisotropy is also shown experimentally here inmartensitically transforming CoNiGa and TiNb alloys. In a model TiNballoy, giant CTEs of (+181×10⁻⁶K⁻¹) and (−142×10⁻⁶K⁻¹) are measured. Aconnection between the CTE anisotropy and the martensitic transformationin these and other materials systems such as NiTi, pure uranium, andPbTiO3 is later made. The present invention observations and analysessuggest that the tunability of the macroscopic CTE through deformationis universal in materials (both ceramic and metals) that undergomartensitic transformations.

Introduction

Control of thermal expansion mismatch is a critical goal of engineeringdesign in a wide range of applications, particularly in cases wheresystem components are small, are subject to large changes (gradients) intemperatures, or require extreme dimensional stability over a wide rangeof temperatures. Thermal expansion compensation often requires materialswith either negative or (close to) zero thermal expansion (NTE or ZTE,respectively). The most widely known mechanisms that yield negativethermal expansion (NTE) include the magneto-volume effect, atomic radiuscontraction upon electronic transitions and flexible networks (see K.Takenaka, Negative thermal expansion materials: technological key forcontrol of thermal expansion. Sci. Technol. Adv. Mat. 13 (2012)). Themagneto-volume effect, first discovered in 1897 (see K. Takenaka,Negative thermal expansion materials: technological key for control ofthermal expansion. Sci. Technol. Adv. Mat. 13 (2012)), is found inFeNi-based Invar alloys that are widely used for thermal expansioncompensation due to its high strength and ductility. Invar's low thermalexpansion originates from instabilities between different magneticconfigurations that at the same time result in significantmagnetostriction effects (see R. J. Weiss, The Origin of the ‘Invar’Effect. P. Phys. Soc. (1963) 281; E. F. Wassermann, The Invar problem.J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 100 (1991) 346-362). Recently, clear links havebeen made between the magneto-volume effect and the martensitic phasetransformations exhibited by FeNi alloys (see E. F. Wassermann, TheInvar Problem. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 100 (1991) 346-362; P. Entel, E.Hoffmann, P. Mohn, K. Schwarz, V. L. Moruzzi, First-PrinciplesCalculations Of The Instability Leading To The Invar Effect. Phys. Rev.B 47 (1993) 8706-8720). In these systems, only compositional changesthat affect magnetic ordering and unit cell volume can tailor Invar'sthermal expansion characteristics.

Another mechanism for NTE is encountered in Sm_(2.75)C₆₀, one of thematerials with the largest known NTE. In this case, the observed NTEarises from atomic radius contraction due to valence electron exchange.Unfortunately, this effect only occurs below 32 K (see J. Arvanitidis,K. Papagelis, S. Margadonna, K. Prassides, A. N. Fitch,Temperature-induced valence transition and associated lattice collapsein samarium fulleride. Nature 425 (2003) 599-602) and is therefore oflimited technological value. Other material systems exhibit NTE throughatomic rotations and transverse atomic vibrations in flexible networksthat occupy different atomic configurations with increasing temperature.For example, the ZrW₂O₈ (see J. S. O. Evans, T. A. Mary, T. Vogt, M. A.Subramanian, A. W. Sleight, Negative Thermal Expansion in ZrW₂O₈ andHfW₂O₈. Chem. Mater. 8 (1996) 2809-2823; T. A. Mary, J. S. O. Evans, T.Vogt, A. W. Sleight, Negative Thermal Expansion from 0.3 to 1050 Kelvinin ZrW₂O₈. Science 272 (1996) 90-92; A. W. Sleight, Thermal contraction.Nature 389 (1997) 923-924) and ReO₃ families of ceramics show isotropicNTE via octahedral site rotations that cause uniform contraction in thecubic unit cell. Transverse atomic vibrations in non-cubic crystallinemetal oxides (such as Mg₂Al₄Si₅O₁₈ cordierite (see A. W. Sleight,Thermal Contraction. Endeavour 19 (1995) 64-68; A. W. Sleight, CompoundsThat Contract On Heating. Inorg. Chem. 37 (1998) 2854-2860), LiAlSiO₄β-eucriptite (see A. W. Sleight, Thermal Contraction. Endeavour 19(1995) 64-68; A. W. Sleight, Compounds That Contract On Heating. Inorg.Chem. 37 (1998) 2854-2860), NaZr₂P₃O₁₂ (see A. W. Sleight, ThermalContraction. Endeavour 19 (1995) 64-68; A. W. Sleight, Compounds ThatContract On Heating. Inorg. Chem. 37 (1998) 2854-2860) and PbTiO3perovskite (see A. W. Sleight, Compounds That Contract On Heating.Inorg. Chem. 37 (1998) 2854-2860)) and carbon structures (see P. K.Schelling, P. Keblinski, Thermal Expansion Of Carbon Structures. Phys.Rev. B 68 (2003) 035425) (such as graphite, carbon fibers andnano-tubes) result in NTE in certain material directions and positivethermal expansion (PTE) in others. Unfortunately, the applicationpotential of NTE ceramics is limited due to their low fracture toughness(see V. Srikanth, E. C. Subbarao, D. K. Agrawal, C.-Y. Huang, R. Roy, G.V. Rao, Thermal-Expansion Anisotropy And Acosutic-Emission Of NaZr₂P₃O₁₂Family Ceramics. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 74 (1991) 365-368), low thermalconductivity, and the need for chemical composition changes to tailortheir coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). While carbon reinforcedcomposites are a more attractive alternative for tailored thermalexpansion compensation, harnessing carbon's low CTE requires complex andexpensive composite fabrication techniques.

In this work, a new method for easily tailoring the thermal expansioncoefficient of alloys that exhibit martensitic transformation byharnessing their giant NTE and PTE associated with differentcrystallographic directions is presented. Interestingly, the NTE and PTEdirections are not solely related to the martensite's crystal symmetry,but can be predicted by comparing the high temperature austenite phase'slattice parameters with the low temperature martensite's latticeparameters. While the fundamental nature of this anisotropic thermalexpansion is currently not understood, this simple correspondencesuccessfully predicts the PTE and NTE directions of not only martensiticmetals and alloys such as NiTiPd, TiNb, CoNiGa, NiTi (see S. Qiu, V. B.Krishnan, S. A. Padula II, R. D. Noebe, D. W. Brown, B. Clausen, R.Vaidyanathan, Measurement of the lattice plane strain and phase fractionevolution during heating and cooling in shape memory NiTi. Appl. Phys.Lett. 95 (2009)), and α-Uranium (see L. T. Lloyd, C. S. Barrett, C. S.Thermal Expansion Of Alpha Uranium. J. Nucl. Mater. 18 (1966) 55), butalso functional ceramics such as PbTiO₃ that undergo martensitictransformation. These different materials represent variouscrystallographic symmetries, composition, chemical ordering, and bondingtypes while sharing martensitic transformation and thermal expansionanisotropy. The ability to tailor an alloy's CTE using simple mechanicaldeformation promises exceptional control over thermal expansioncompensation design in the automotive, aerospace, marine, electronic,power generation and transmission, and scientific instrumentationindustries. Within this context the mechanical deformation permits anadjustable tradeoff to occur between macroscopic thermal expansionmismatch and grain scale mismatch. In order to tailor the CTE it ispossible to mix grain orientations with very different CTE's in theright proportion. This means on a grain scale it is possible to haveneighbors with very different CTE's resulting in intergranular stresses.Some study of this behavior has been performed with beryllium (D. W.Brown, T. A. Sisneros, B. Clausen, S. Abeln, M. A. M. Bourke, B. G.Smith, M. L. Steinzig, C. N. Tome, S. C. Vogel, Acta. Mat., 57 (2009)972-979).

Experimental Procedures (1700)-(1900)

Experimental procedures associated with development of the presentinvention selected three different alloy systems exhibiting martensitictransformation in order to demonstrate the CTE anisotropy of martensiticalloys regardless of the crystal structure of martensite, or whether thealloy is ordered or not. In addition, the present invention shows thatdifferent, but simple thermo-mechanical processing methods can be usedto tailor the CTE of these alloys between large positive and largenegative values, by crystallographically texturing martensite throughmartensite reorientation/detwinning mechanisms. These alloy systems areNiTiPd in polycrystalline form, CoNiGa as single crystals, and TiNb inpolycrystalline form. FIG. 17 (1700)-FIG. 19 (1900) displays thecomparison between the austenite and martensite phases for these threealloys. The three alloys were selected as representative systems toillustrate the universal nature of the CTE anisotropy and tailorable CTEin martensitic materials. Using FIG. 17 (1700)-FIG. 19 (1900), thelattice parameter correspondence between austenite and martensite willbe shown to correlate with the observed thermal expansion anisotropybelow.

CoNiGa single crystal samples were grown in a He environment using theBridgman technique. 4×4×8 mm samples were wire electro-dischargemachined (EDMed) from the larger single crystals and etched to removethe EDM recast layer. The samples were then homogenized at 1473K for 4hrs, followed by water quenching (WQ) under ultra-high purity (UHP)argon in quartz ampules. These samples were mostly used for neutrondiffraction experiments in order to demonstrate the CTE anisotropy in anexample tetragonal (L1₀) martensite system. For the NiTiPd alloy, theingots with the composition of NiTiPd were vacuum induction melted in agraphite crucible and cast into a water cooled copper mold. The ingotswere homogenized and encased in a steel can prior to 900° C. extrusionwith a 7 to 1 reduction in area. Dog-bone tension samples were then wireEDMed from the extruded rods for tensile processing. Elemental Ti and Nbwere arc melted under argon gas to obtain samples with the compositionof TiNb. The ingot was then sealed in a quartz tube under UHP argon andheat treated at 1273K for 24 hrs. 0.5 mm thick NiTiPd and TiNb sampleswere wire EDM cut and polished to a mirror finish prior to thediffraction experiments.

Lattice parameters at discrete temperatures for NiTiPd and TiNb weredetermined using x-ray diffraction (XRD), while CoNiGa was characterizedusing neutron diffraction. All samples were cooled to the lowestdiffraction temperature and heated to each subsequent temperature. XRDwas conducted using Cu K-a radiation on a Bruker AXS X-RayDiffractometer with a hot stage fitted with a platinum heating strip.Temperature was controlled and measured using a thermocouple fixed tothe sample's surface. The lattice parameters were determined using TOPAZsoftware by fitting a pseudo-Voigt function to individual XRD peaks andusing Bragg's law to calculate the atomic plane spacing. Textureanalysis was also performed on the 0%, 25% and 50% rolled TiNb samples.A three axis goniometer stage in the Bruker AXS Diffractometer was usedto rotate the sample. Inverse pole figures were created from the texturedata using MTEX data analysis code.

For thermal expansion tensor calculation, the Lagrangian or engineeringthermal expansion (α) along any unit vector (η_(i)) in a solid is givenby:

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{\alpha \equiv {\frac{1}{l_{o}}\frac{\partial l}{\partial T}}} \\{= \frac{\partial ɛ}{\partial T}} \\{= {\alpha_{ij}n_{i}n_{j}}}\end{matrix} & (9)\end{matrix}$

where l₀ is the original material length along n_(i), l is thetemperature dependent material length along n_(i), ε is the thermallyinduced lattice strain along n_(i), and α_(ij) is the thermal expansiontensor. α_(ij) is anisotropic in crystalline structures with theirrespective forms as given by reference (see J. L. Schlenker, G. V.Gibbs, M. B. Boisen, Thermal-Expansion Coefficients For MonoclinicCrystals—Phenomenological Approach. Am. Mineral. 60 (1975) 828-833). Bysetting n_(i) parallel to the plane normals and l equal to the planarspacing, the temperature dependent lattice spacing can be used tocalculate a along different crystallographic directions. The best way todetermine lattice spacing is through x-ray or neutron diffractionexperiments where each diffraction peak represents the distance betweencrystallographic planes. While the minimum number of diffraction peaksrequired to determine the complete thermal expansion tensor is equal tothe number of independent thermal expansion components of α, a leastsquares refinement of several peaks is preferred (see S. Qiu, V. B.Krishnan, S. A. Padula II, R. D. Noebe, D. W. Brown, B. Clausen, R.Vaidyanathan, Measurement Of The Lattice Plane Strain And Phase FractionEvolution During Heating And Cooling In Shape Memory NiTi. Appl. Phys.Lett. 95 (2009)) to increase accuracy. Second order polynomial fits ofthe CoNiGa and TiNb strain data and linear fits of the NiTiPd straindata, solid lines in FIG. 21 (2100), were used to determine thecomponents of the thermal expansion tensor.

Neutron diffraction was conducted using the Spectrometer for MaterialsResearch at Temperature and Stress (SMARTS) Instrument (see M. A. M.Bourke, D. C. Dunand, E. Ustundag, SMARTS—A Spectrometer For StrainMeasurement In Engineering Materials. Appl. Phys. A 74 (2002)s1707-s1709) and the High Intensity Powder Diffractometer (HIPD) at theLujan Neutron Scattering Center at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center(LANSCE). The Lujan Center is a pulsed spallation source of a “white”neutron beam. SMARTs and HIPD operate on a 10° C. water moderatorproviding useful neutrons in the range of 0.5 to 4 Å. Sample cooling onSMARTS was achieved under vacuum using a helium closed-cyclerefrigerator (CCR) capable of reaching temperatures down to 50K. Samplecooling on HIPD was achieved down to 4K using a similar closed cyclerefrigerator with He exchange gas. Time of flight (TOF) data wascollected on stationary detector banks comprised of ³He fill aluminumtubes. Lattice spacing was determined by single peak fits of the TOFdata using the rawplot subroutine (see B. Clausen, Los Alamos NationalLab LA-UR 04-6581, 2004, Los Alamos, N. Mex.) of the General StructureAnalysis System (GSAS) software developed at Los Alamos (see R. B.Vondreele, J. D. Jorgensen, C. G. Windsor, J. App. Crys., 15 (1982)581-589). The materials d-spacing at various temperatures was used tocalculate the thermal lattice strain along specific crystal orientationsand determine the thermal expansion anisotropy.

Processing to achieve tailored thermal expansion was conducted on NiTiPdby pulling in tension and TiNb by room temperature rolling. Tensileprocessing was achieved by incremental strain tests on a servo-hydraulicMTS test frame and the thermal expansion response was measured at eachdeformation increment. Displacement was measured using an MTS hightemperature extensometer fitted with ceramic extension rods in directcontact with the sample. Heating and cooling was achieved by conductionthrough the grips. Copper coils were wrapped around the grips to flowliquid nitrogen for cooling and band heaters around the coils forheating. The homogenized TiNb ingot was wire EDM cut into 4 mm thickcoins and subsequently rolled to 20%, 50% and 80% thickness reduction atroom temperature. 5 mm long compression samples were wire EDM cut alongthe rolling and transverse sample directions for thermal expansionmeasurement on a TA Instruments Thermo-Mechanical Analyzer (TMA).

Experimental Results (2000)-(2400) Thermal Expansion Anisotropy

The thermal expansion of the respective martensitic crystal structuresof the NiTiPd, TiNb and CoNiGa alloys was determined by measuring thelattice spacing at various temperatures using x-ray and neutrondiffraction measurements. FIG. 20 (2000) displays the diffractionpatterns of NiTiPd at 300K, TiNb at 300K, and CoNiGa at 4K highlightingreflections for the orthorhombic B19, orthorhombic disordered andtetragonal L1₀ martensites, respectively. The strains

${ɛ(T)} = \frac{{l(T)} - l_{o}}{l_{o}}$

between different lattice planes for CoNiGa, TiNb and NiTiPd aredisplayed in FIG. 21 (2100) with l_(o) taken from the diffractionpatterns in FIG. 20 (2000). The markers correspond to the data pointstaken from several planar spacing reflections. All the experimentaltemperatures are below the martensitic transformation finish temperaturefor each material, i.e. 316K for CoNiGa (see E. Dogan, I. Karaman, N.Singh, A. Chivukula, H. S. Thawabi, R. Arroyave, The Effect OfElectronic And Magnetic Valences On The Martensitic Transformation OfCoNiGa Shape Memory Alloys. Acta Mater. (2012) 3545-3558), 500K for TiNb(see H. Y. Kim, Y. Ikehara, J. I. Kim, H. Hosoda, S. Miyazaki,Martensitic Transformation, Shape Memory Effect And Superelasticity OfTi—Nb Binary Alloys. Acta Mater. 54 (2006) 2419-2429) and 500K forNiTiPd (see J. A. Monroe, I. Karaman, D. C. Lagoudas, G. Bigelow, R. D.Noebe, S. Padula II, Determining Recoverable And IrrecoverableContributions To Accumulated Strain In A NiTiPd High-Temperature ShapeMemory Alloy During Thermomechanical Cycling. Scripta Mater. 65 (2011)123-126). The NiTiPd response is linear within the measurementuncertainty in the studied temperature range with expansion between the(100) planes and contraction between the (020) and (002) planes. Thedistances between the (110), (310) and (301) CoNiGa planes increasewhile those between the (103) planes decreases and the distance betweenthe (101) planes does not change. The TiNb's (020), (130), (021) and(022) planes contract while the (002) and (111) planes expand withincreasing temperature.

FIG. 22 (2200)-FIG. 24 (2400) displays the experimentally measuredthermal expansion coefficients along martensite's principalcrystallographic directions of [100], [010] and [001], corresponding tomartensite's α₁₁, α₂₂ and α₃₃, respectively.

FIG. 22 (2200)-FIG. 24 (2400) display the CTE magnitudes for (a) NiTiPd,(b) CoNiGa at 260K, and (c) TiNb at 473K determined from the thermalexpansion measurements displayed in FIG. 21 (2100). The ellipsoidscorrespond to positive and negative thermal expansion values,respectively. The orthorhombic NiTiPd alloy exhibits positive thermalexpansion along the [100] direction and negative thermal expansion alongthe [001] direction. NiTiPd's [010] direction has a very small negativethermal expansion. The tetragonal CoNiGa alloy exhibits uniform positivethermal expansion along the [100] and [010] directions and negativethermal expansion along the [001] direction. While TiNb shares itsorthorhombic crystal symmetry with NiTiPd, it only shows contractionalong the [010] axis and expansion along the [100] and [001] axes. Thisindicates that the crystal symmetry is not the only factor thatinfluences the thermal expansion anisotropy in these martensitic alloys.While they may have different values, the thermal expansion valuesinherit the symmetry of the crystal phase with the orthorhombic TiNb andNiTiPd having different values in each crystallographic direction andthe tetragonal CoNiGa being isotropic in the [100]-[010] plane. Thelargest magnitudes of positive and negative thermal expansion are TiNb'sgiant +181 10⁻⁶K⁻¹ and −142 10⁻⁶K⁻¹ at 473K. Somewhere (maybe it is tocome) you need to discuss the effect of one sample being single crystaland the others polycrystals. In a polycrystal, the grains aremechanically constrained by their neighbors, thus you are likely notmeasuring the same lattice strain (CTE) as you would in a single crystal(again see our Be paper). This could be a small effect, but I am notsure. In a polycrystal, the observed extreme values of the CTE arenecessarily smaller than they would be in a single crystal because ofthe constraint of the neighborhood.

Tailored Thermal Expansion (2500)-(2800)

The giant thermal expansion anisotropy observed at the atomic level canbe leveraged to tune the alloys' macroscopic thermal expansion throughcontrol of the crystallographic texture via thermo-mechanicaldeformation. FIG. 25 (2500) shows the stress-strain response of NiTiPdas the sample is loaded, unloaded, and loaded again, under tension, atroom temperature. In between each incremental loading-unloading cycle,the sample was thermally cycled within the martensitic phase under zerostress to obtain the bulk samples' macroscopic thermal expansioncharacteristics. FIG. 26 (2600) displays the macroscopic strain vs.temperature response for the polycrystalline NiTiPd strainedincrementally between 0% and 5% tensile strain in FIG. 25 (2500). The 0%strained condition expands with increasing temperature as expected fromtraditional alloys. Increasing the pre-strain from 1% to 4% straindecreases the material's dependence on temperature as the CTE approacheszero. At 5% strain, the response crosses from positive thermal expansionto negative thermal expansion at the macroscopic scale. A similardecrease in CTE is observed for cold rolled TiNb along the rollingdirection as displayed in FIG. 26 (2600). The 0% rolled sample has anormal positive thermal expansion response while increasing deformationpercent from 20% to 80% decreases the thermal expansion values to largenegative magnitudes.

The resulting thermal expansion coefficients vs. induced deformationpercent are shown in FIG. 27 (2700) for NiTiPd and FIG. 28 (2800) forTiNb. The NiTiPd linear CTE decreases with increasing imposed strain andultimately exhibits negative thermal expansion at the macroscopic scale.The thermal expansion along the rolling, transverse and normal sampledirections are displayed for TiNb. The rolling direction's CTE decreasesasymptotically from 9×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to −40×10⁻⁶ K. The transverse and normaldirections both increase with increasing deformation with the normaldirection changing the most from 9×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to 50×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹. It should benoted that the reason for the apparent decrease in CTE with the 80%rolled sample measurement along the normal direction is not known.However, it might be due to error from the thin sample size. This mayrequire inclusion of uncertainties either in the text or on the figure.

Discussion of Results/Exemplary Performance (2900)-(3200)

In addition to NiTiPd, TiNb and CoNiGa material systems presented above,some other material systems known to exhibit NTE and PTE anisotropicthermal expansion below their martensitic transformation temperaturesare thermo-elastic alloys and ceramics, such as NiTi (see S. Qiu, V. B.Krishnan, S. A. Padula II, R. D. Noebe, D. W. Brown, B. Clausen, R.Vaidyanathan, Measurement Of The Lattice Plane Strain And Phase FractionEvolution During Heating And Cooling In Shape Memory NiTi. Appl. Phys.Lett. 95 (2009)) and PbTiO3 (see A. W. Sleight, Compounds That ContractOn Heating Norg. Chem. 37 (1998) 2854-2860), and non-thermo-elasticα-Uranium (see L. T. Lloyd, C. S. Barrett, C. S. Thermal Expansion OfAlpha Uranium. J. Nucl. Mater. 18 (1966) 55). These and the materialsstudied in this work represent pure metals (U), disordered alloys(TiNb), B2 ordered alloys (NiTi and NiTiPd), Heusler alloys (CoNiGa),and ceramics (PbTiO3). Table 1 lists the experimentally determinedthermal expansion along martensite's crystallographic directions fromdiffraction experiments with NTE values highlighted in red. The twotetragonal crystal structures, CoNiGa and PbTiO₃, exhibit contractionalong the [001] direction and expansion along the [100] and [010]directions while the monoclinic material, NiTi, exhibits NTE only alongthe [100] direction. The three orthorhombic materials show differentbehavior from each other with NiTiPd contracting along the [100] and[010] directions while U and TiNb contract only along [010].

Aside from PTE and NTE anisotropy, a common thread between these variousmaterials is the martensitic transformation. A martensitictransformation is a diffusionless solid-solid phase transformationbetween a high temperature austenite phase and a low temperaturemartensite phase. The austenite phase in all these materials has cubicsymmetry that exhibits PTE in all crystallographic directions while themartensite phase has lower symmetry, such as tetragonal; orthorhombic;or monoclinic, and exhibits PTE and NTE anisotropy along differentcrystallographic directions. The correspondence between these twocrystal phases (i.e., austenite and martensite) can be determined usinga simple rotation matrix, R^(A→M) presented in Table 2, that mapsdistances from austenite's to martensite's principal coordinate system.These rotation matrices will be used to compare austenite and martensitelattice parameters below.

The lattice parameters for the high temperature austenite, l^(A), andlow temperature martensite, l^(M), phases of these five differentmaterials are presented in Table 1 along with a lattice parametercomparison R^(A→M)l^(A)−l^(M) along the given crystallographicdirections. For all materials presented, the martensite'scrystallographic NTE directions correspond to the crystallographicdirections that are smaller in austenite than martensite (i.e., whereR^(A→M)l^(A)<l^(M)) and PTE directions correspond to directions that arelarger in austenite than martensite (i.e., where R^(A→M)l^(A)>l^(M)).This criteria can be observed graphically by comparing theaustenite-martensite lattice schematics for CoNiGa, NiTiPd and TiNbdisplayed in FIG. 17 (1700)-FIG. 19 (1900). The difference in angle,β^(A)-β^(M), was also determined for monoclinic NiTi. The directionswith negative values of R^(A→M)l^(A)<l^(M) (shown in red) are those thatexperimentally exhibit NTE and vice versa. The existence of positive andnegative thermal expansion anisotropy in this wide variety of materialsystems and its connection to the austenite-martensite lattice parametercorrespondence points to a mechanism potentially linked to themartensitic transformation. This observation also suggests that theInvar effect recently discovered in cold rolled Ti₂₃Nb_(0.7)Ta₂Zr_(1.2)Oalloys may be a result of stress induced martensite in addition to thestrain glass transition as described in reference (see Y. Wang, J. Gao,H. Wu, S. Yang, X. Ding, D. Wang, X. Ren, Y. Wang, X. Song, J. Gao,Strain Glass Transition In A Multifunctional β-type Ti Alloy. Sci. Rep.4 (2014)).

Regardless of the microscopic mechanism responsible for the CTEanisotropy at the crystal lattice level, these tailored directionalmacroscopic CTE responses are achieved by orienting the martensitevariants along the sample directions via thermo-mechanical deformation.FIG. 31 (3100) displays inverse pole figures along the rolling,transverse and normal directions of TiNb at 0%, 20% and 50% rollingdeformation. The 0% rolled material shows nearly random weak texturewith martensite variants mostly randomly oriented within the sample.This is corroborated by the isotropic macroscopic CTE exhibited by the0% rolled condition in FIG. 29 (2900)-FIG. 30 (3000). The 50% rolledcondition on the other hand exhibits strong (010) texture along therolling direction, (307) texture in the transverse direction and (101)texture along the normal direction. The TiNb crystal's largest negativethermal expansion direction is [010], as shown in FIG. 24 (2400), whichis parallel to the [010] plane normal in the orthorhombic martensite.The [010] texture along the sample's rolling direction increases withhigher rolling reduction. Therefore, the lattice level negative thermalexpansion in FIG. 27 (2700) and FIG. 21 (2100), creates the negativethermal expansion observed at the macroscopic scale, FIG. 26 (2600). The[307] and [101] plane normals exhibit positive thermal expansion. Thiscorrelates strongly with the textures observed in the transverse andnormal sample directions, respectively. The transverse and normaldirections exhibit positive thermal expansion at all rolling deformationlevels. The transverse direction's CTE increases with increasingdeformation, but remains smaller in magnitude than the normaldirection's CTE. As a result of the texturing process, the macroscopicthermal expansion of this material is “programmed” or tuned by therolling deformation.

FIG. 32 (3200) displays the linear thermal expansion coefficient vs.thermal conductivity for various material types. Highlighted in purpleis the current thermal expansion region that a single crystalmartensitic material could potentially exhibit. The thermal expansioncharacteristics for this new class of tailored thermal expansion alloyscan match those of polymers, ceramics and other metals over a much widerrange than composite materials. The thermal expansion anisotropy is keyto obtaining a tailored thermal expansion coefficient in a singlematerial without changing the chemical composition.

This is a response that materials exhibiting isotropic thermal expansioncharacteristics, such as Invar and ZrW₂O₈, cannot achieve. This newlydiscovered technique for tailoring CTEs in bulk materials can providethe means to tightly control a metal's thermal expansion coefficientbeyond any currently known material, without the tradeoffs associatedwith changing material composition or complex composite fabrication.More importantly, the de-coupling between composition and macroscopicCTE dramatically increases the materials design space as compositioncould potentially be adjusted to meet specific functional requirementsnot necessarily related to the need to compensate thermal expansion.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the reorientation of thermoelastic domains can be used totailor the thermal expansion response a martensitic material throughsimple thermo-mechanical processing. In principle, any texturing methodcould be used to tune the macroscopic thermal expansion coefficient ofthese materials. This ability to control the CTE of these materialsthrough texture is associated with the highly anisotropic nature of thethermal expansion tensor in the martensite phase. It was also shown thatNTE or PTE crystallographic directions were connected to thecrystallographic relationship between the austenite and martensitelattices, pointing to a possible mechanism linked to the martensitictransformation shared by these materials. It is believed that thesecriteria can be applied to a much wider range of materials that undergomartensitic transformation, although there is still much to beunderstood about the fundamental physical basis for the observedphenomenon. The degree of control over the macroscopic thermal expansionresponse of the materials presented in this work suggests arevolutionary and inexpensive approach to tune the CTE of materials foruse in applications that are sensitive to temperature changes orgradients.

Method Overview (3300)

In conjunction with the above-described invention system, a presentinvention method may implement controlled thermal coefficient productwith advantageous characteristics. The present invention method may beunderstood by viewing the flowchart depicted in FIG. 33 (3300) andbroadly generalized as a controlled thermal coefficient product methodcomprising:

-   -   (1) Specifying the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for        the resulting CTE product (3301);    -   (2) Selection of a CTE material for the resulting CTE product        (3302);    -   (3) Preparing the CTE material for the resulting CTE product        (3303);    -   (4) Tailoring the CTE material (3304); and    -   (5) Fabricating the resulting CTE product using the tailored CTE        material (3305).        This general method may be modified heavily depending on a        number of factors, with rearrangement and/or addition/deletion        of steps anticipated by the scope of the present invention.        Integration of this and other preferred exemplary embodiment        methods in conjunction with a variety of preferred exemplary        embodiment systems described herein is anticipated by the        overall scope of the present invention.

FIG. 34 (3400)-FIG. 60 (6000) provide additional detail supporting theindividual steps of this generalized CTC product method.

Material Selection (3400)-(3700) Method Overview

Additional detail of the material selection process is provided in theflowcharts depicted in FIG. 34 (3400)—FIG. 36 (3600) and the graphdepicted in FIG. 37 (3700). Material selection generally comprises:

-   -   (1) Specifying the CTE and other material properties (3401);    -   (2) Matching selected material properties to available materials        databases using either a tailored CTE material database (3500,        3510) and/or other materials database (3600, 3610) (3402); and    -   (3) Specifying the material chemistry and composition of the CTE        material (3403).        This general method may be modified heavily depending on a        number of factors, with rearrangement and/or addition/deletion        of steps anticipated by the scope of the present invention.        Integration of this and other preferred exemplary embodiment        methods in conjunction with a variety of preferred exemplary        embodiment systems described herein is anticipated by the        overall scope of the present invention.        specifying CTE Material Properties

The three CTE specifications required are the magnitude, sign, andisotropy requirements determined by the final material/productrequirements:

-   -   Magnitude—The specified magnitudes can range between 0 and        120×10⁻⁶K⁻¹ and represent the material macroscopic or bulk        thermal expansion coefficient in a

specific material direction. The thermal expansion magnitude willdetermine the rate the material changes shape with temperature. It isinitially specified to a pre-determined value that is required for aspecific application or component. The thermal expansion magnitude isrelated to the amount of mechanical deformation induced in thetailorable material. This input is used to select material compositionand chemistry and determine the deformation amount required to producethe desired thermal expansion magnitude.

-   -   Sign—The sign of the thermal expansion magnitude is specified as        positive (+) or negative (−) or perfectly zero (0). This input        is used to select material composition and chemistry and        determine the mechanical deformation type required to produce        the desired thermal expansion sign.    -   Isotropy—Isotropy is specified as (1) three dimensional        anisotropy, (2) two dimensional isotropy or (3) internal        material location dependent. Isotropy traditionally refers to        the materials ability to have varying material properties in        different physical directions. This input is required to        determine the deformation type and processing parameters to        produce the desired isotropy in the thermal expansion magnitudes        and signs.

Specifying a Other Material Properties

Other material specifications are required to ensure material meets enduse requirements. These specifications are property dependent and havebeen well defined by ASTM standard testing techniques and definitions.It is important to specify whether the final material or componentrequires material properties that are greater than, equal to or lessthan the values specified. The following represent a non-exclusive listof other material properties:

Mechanical Properties

-   -   Tensile Properties from a stress-strain diagram (ASTM E8): Yield        Strength (YS) in MPa or ksi, Ultimate Tensile Strength in MPa or        ksi, Elastic Modulus (ASTM E111) in GPa or ksi, Ductility in        percent.    -   Compressive Properties from a stress-strain diagram (ASTM E9):        Yield Strength in MPa or ksi, Elastic Modulus (ASTM E111) in GPa        or ksi, Compressive Strength in MPa or ksi, as generally        depicted in FIG. 37 (3700).    -   Hardness from an indention (ASTM A833) specified as Vickers or        Brinnel.    -   Fatigue from mechanical cycling (ASTM E606 and E647) specified        as fatigue limit or cycles till failure or fatigue crack growth        rate.    -   Fracture Toughness from a fracture (ASTM E399) specified as        critical stress concentration factor K_(IC).    -   Creep Resistance from a strain-time test (ASTM E139) specified        as maximum time and temperature limits.

Thermal

-   -   Conductivity (ASTM E457, E1125, C518) specified as W/(m-K).    -   Heat Capacity (ASTM E1269) specified as J/K.

Electrical

-   -   Electrical Resistivity (ASTM B193) specified as Ohm/cm.

Magnetic

-   -   Coercively (ASTM A977/A977M) specified as Oersted (Oe).    -   Permeability (ASTM A342/A342M) specified as Henries per meter        (H/m) or Newtons per Amp squared (N/Â2).    -   Magnetic Saturation specified as Oe.

Corrosive

-   -   Open Circuit Potential (ASTM XX) specified as Volts (V).    -   Galvanic Series (ASTM G82 and C192) specified in Volts (V).

Other

-   -   Density specified in g/cc    -   Isotropy in any of the “Other Material Properties Specified.”

Selecting a Potential Alloy

The CTE Magnitude, CTE Sign, and Other Material Properties Specified areinputs that influence the material selection process. This allowsselection of the material from a material property database. Thismaterial property database may include the following data elements:

Thermal Expansion Magnitudes and Sign

Each candidate material needs to be a crystal that exhibits thermalexpansion anisotropy (i.e., different thermal expansion values indifferent crystal directions at the atomic level). Each individualmaterial and chemistry will have different thermal expansion magnitudesexhibited in different directions at the atomic scale. These magnitudesare the limiting factors for the achievable macroscopic thermalexpansion coefficients that can be achieved in a bulk material. Allmaterials that exhibit martensitic transformation, including metals andceramics, are candidate materials. The material properties may or maynot be readily available in the material property database. If thematerial properties are not available, they can be collected fromcandidate material samples.

Materials List

The candidate material may be selected from a list of materials thathave been discovered to exhibit the required CTE when combined asindicated below:

-   -   Ti_(100-A)X_(A) (X=at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, or        combinations thereof) (A=0 to 75 atomic percent composition),        Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al, Pt,        Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55        atomic percent composition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent        composition such that A+B<100), Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B) (X=at        least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V,        0, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 55 atomic percent        composition and B=0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that        A+B<100), Ti_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Al, Sn, Nb,        Zr, Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations        thereof) (A=0 to 55 atomic percent composition and B=0 to 75        atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),        Ni_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb,        Co, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent        composition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that        A+B<100), Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C) (X=at least one of Ga,        In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic        percent composition, B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and        C=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B+C<100),        Ni_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition        and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),        Cu_(100-A)X_(A) (X=at least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or        combinations thereof) (A=0 to 75 atomic percent composition),        Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or        combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition and        B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),        Cu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C) (X=at least one of Zn, Ni, Be,        or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition,        B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C=0 to 50 atomic        percent composition such that A+B+C<100),        Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In,        or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent composition        and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A+B<100),        Fe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al, Ta,        Si, or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent        composition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that        A+B<100), Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B) (X=at least one of Ga, Mn, Co,        Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof) (A=to 50 atomic percent        composition and B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that        A+B<100), Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D) (X=at least one        of Ti, Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic        percent composition, B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, C=0        to 50 atomic percent composition, and D=0 to 50 atomic percent        composition such that A+B+C+D<100),        Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D) (X=at least one of Al, Ta,        Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof) (A=0 to 50 atomic percent        composition, B=0 to 50 atomic percent composition, C=0 to 50        atomic percent composition, and D=0 to 50 atomic percent        composition such that A+B+C+D<100), and combinations thereof        that exhibit martensitic transformation.    -   NiTi, NiTiPd, NiTiHf, NiTiPt, NiTiAu, NiTiZr, NiMn, NiMnGa,        NiMnSn, NiMnIn, NiMnAl, NiMnSb, NiCoMn, NiCoMnGa, NiCoMnSn,        NiCoMnAl, NiCoMnIn, NiCoMnSb, NiFeGa, MnFeGa, TiNb, TiMo,        TiNbAl, TiNbSn, TiNbTa, TiNbZr, TiNbO, CuMnAlNi, CuMnAl, CuZnAl,        CuNiAl, CuAlBe, CoNi, CoNiAl, CoNiGa, FeMn, FeMnGa, FeMnNi,        FeMnCo, FeMnAl, FeMnTa, FeMnNiAl, FeNiCoAl, FeNiCoAlTa,        FeNiCoAlTi, FeNiCoAlNb, FeNiCoAlW, FeNiCoAlCr, FeMnSi, FeNiCo,        FeNiCoTi, as well as derivations and combinations thereof that        exhibit martensitic transformation.

Methods that are anticipated to be used to determine the CTE magnitudeinclude diffraction (XRD, neutron, synchrotron) or mechanicalmeasurement.

Other Material Properties

Other Material Properties—Other material properties are collected usingthe ASTM standards specified in the “Other Material PropertiesSpecified” section above. Alternatively, these material properties canbe retrieved from material property databases that readily available.These materials properties are specified to meet specific criteria in asystem or application. These may include:

-   -   Mechanical    -   Thermal    -   Electrical    -   Magnetic    -   Corrosive

Selection Process

A general material selection process may incorporate the followingsteps:

-   -   (1) Selecting a Candidate Alloy based on CTE requirements using        input from selection descriptions above. A list of candidate        materials is initially selected from the material database based        on material chemistries that undergo martensitic transformation        and CTE magnitude and sign requirements. The thermal expansion        magnitudes of a candidate material at the atomic scale must be        greater than or equal to the magnitudes specified above and the        sign must be the same as indicated above.    -   (2) Comparing the selected material to other material property        requirements by using a process of elimination, wherein        materials and chemistries are removed from the initial list of        materials. To pass, the material must exhibit properties greater        than, equal to or less than the values specified in above.    -   (3) Recursive Material Selection—The selection list is        recursively refined to obtain a specific material and chemistry        that can achieve the specified thermal expansion coefficient and        specified other material properties. Even if the thermal        expansion coefficients and/or other material properties are not        previously known and stored in the database, rapid material        selection can be achieved by fabricating materials with changes        to material composition.    -   (4) Changes to Composition can be achieved by varying the        composition (i.e., changing the proportion of one element while        maintaining the same type of elements) of a base material        chemistry change the thermal expansion magnitudes and sign.        These variations will also change other material properties.    -   (5) Changes to Base Chemistry can be achieved by using a        different element or adding additional alloying elements) of a        base material chemistry change the thermal expansion magnitudes        and sign. These variations will also change other material        properties.        The resulting unique material has a chemistry with:    -   Tailorable CTE potential; and    -   Specified other material properties.

Method Detail (3800)-(4000)

A more detailed description of the material selection method isgenerally depicted in FIG. 38 (3800)-FIG. 40 (4000). This detailedmethod generally comprises the following steps:

-   -   (1) Specify CTE and Other Material Properties as indicated above        (3801);    -   (2) Select a potential alloy chemistry and composition by        comparing CTE Material Database (Tailored CTE Material Database        (3510) or Other Material Properties Database (3610)) to CTE        Specifications (3802);    -   (3) Determining if the potential alloy CTE meet the desired CTE        requirements, and if not, proceeding to step (7) (3903);    -   (4) Comparing the selected material other material properties to        the desired target object properties (3904);    -   (5) Determining if the selected alloy other material properties        meet the target object properties, and if not, proceeding to        step (7) (3905);    -   (6) Verifying that the material chemistry selected can achieve        the specified CTE and other material properties, and proceeding        to material preparation (3906);    -   (7) Determining if all information has been scanned in the        material properties database for matching CTE/other material        properties criterion, and if not, proceeding to step (9) (4007);    -   (8) Displaying an informational message indicating that a CTE        criterion mismatch has occurred or that the desired product        characteristics are over-constrained and proceeding to step (1)        (4008);    -   (9) Selecting another material chemistry or composition from the        material properties database and proceeding to step (2) (4009).

As can be seen from this flowchart, the material selection process mayincorporate a recursive component that allows a variety of materials tobe selected for a given product application based on changing CTE andother material characteristics. This material selection, when used inconjunction with subsequent customized material preparation can generateend-products having advantageous CTE properties that are not availablewhen using materials or alloys in their raw state.

Material Preparation (4100)-(4800)

Method Overview

Additional detail of the material preparation process is detailed inFIG. 41 (4100)-FIG. 48 (4800). An overview of the method associated witha typical material preparation is provided in the flowcharts depicted inFIG. 41 (4100)-FIG. 43 (4300). Material preparation generally comprises:

-   -   (1) Defining the material chemistry and composition (4101);    -   (2) Selecting a melting process (4102) using a melting process        database (4110) (this may include selection of a melting method,        melting environment, crucible/mold, and specialty processing as        indicated) (4102);    -   (3) Preparing the elemental material, including weighing the        material in proportions specified by the desired chemistry and        composition and cleaning the elemental material to remove        surface impurities before loading the material into the melting        furnace (4103);    -   (4) Producing a raw ingot of the elemental material composition        (4204);    -   (5) Selecting heat treatment for the raw ingot from a phase        diagram database (4220) which may include the use of phase        diagrams and time/temperature selections as required (4205);    -   (6) Preparing the raw ingot for the selected heat treatment by        surface cleaning and/or passivation (4306);    -   (7) Heat treating the ingot to produce a prepared material ingot        (4307) ready for CTE tailoring (4308).        This general method may be modified heavily depending on a        number of factors, with rearrangement and/or addition/deletion        of steps anticipated by the scope of the present invention.        Integration of this and other preferred exemplary embodiment        methods in conjunction with a variety of preferred exemplary        embodiment systems described herein is anticipated by the        overall scope of the present invention.

Melting Process Selection

The melting process may be selected using the following criterion:

Oxidation/Purity Level Specified

The oxidation and purity level should be specified in atomic % or weight% and depends on the initial purity of the elemental materials, themelting process type, the melting atmosphere and the mold type.

Composition Variation Specified

The composition variation should be specified in atomic % or weight %and depends on the initial purity of the elemental materials, theaccuracy of initial weights and the melting process type.

Melting Process Database

Each melting and casting process is made up of a combination of themelting process, atmosphere and mold/crucible type.

-   -   Melting Process—Resistance Furnace, Blast Furnace, Arc Melting,        Induction Melting, Induction Scull Melting, Plasma Arc Furnace,        Directional Solidification Furnace, Microwave Furnace    -   Atmosphere—Open Air, Nitrogen, Argon, Vacuum    -   Mold/Crucible Type—Ceramic (graphite, alumina, mullite,        zerconia), Metal (tungsten, tantalum)

Elemental Material Preparation

Elemental material preparation may incorporate cleaning that generallyinvolves removing an existing oxide layer or passivation layer (oil orpolymer) using acid etching, mechanical grinding, organic solvents orany combination of these three prior to melting.

Raw Ingot Production

The type mold shape, cooling type and directional solidification willinfluence the material's crystal orientation and thus can contribute tothe isotropy or anisotropy of the material piece. Raw ingot productionmay incorporate the following criterion:

-   -   Mold Shape—Cylindrical Bar, Square/Rectangular Bar, Button,        Puck, Plate, Angle    -   Cooling Type—The cooling type changes the materials cooling rate        that will influence the phases present and the crystal        orientation. Slow Cooling, Furnace Cooling, Air Cooling, Oil        Quenching, and Water Quenching are non-exclusively anticipated        for the cooling type.    -   Directional Solidification—As cast materials solidify, a        solid-liquid interface moves across the melt to produce a solid.        The direction this interface moves influences the crystal        orientation of the grains inside the material and thus can be        used to tailor the thermal expansion coefficient. This is true        for all cast materials. The mold material, shape, and cooling        type influence the cooling direction and can be controlled to        create a desired crystal orientation. Directional solidification        furnaces carefully control the direction, shape, and speed of        the solid-liquid interface and can create initial crystal        orientations desirable for achieving a tailored thermal        expansion response. FIG. 44 (4400)-FIG. 48 (4800) depict a        typical directional solidification process that involves slowly        cooling a melt as a solid ingot is removed from a heated zone in        a furnace. Additional material may be added to the melt as the        ingot is removed to achieve an ingot of a desired size. The slow        cooling and directional removal of the ingot produces crystals        with a preferred orientation. This process can be used to        provide an initial orientation of crystals that may or may not        exhibit thermal expansion coefficients that are tailored. The        final macroscopic thermal expansion coefficient magnitude and        sign discussed above may or may not be achieved using this        directional solidification process alone. The mechanical        deformation described previously may or may not be required to        further tailor the thermal expansion coefficient to the        specified value. Additionally, directional solidification may be        necessary to achieving specified thermal expansion values in        certain materials and can be applied to crystalline ceramics as        well as alloys.

Resulting Ingot

The ingot resulting from this material preparation is a unique materialhaving the characteristics of:

-   -   Tailorable CTE potential;    -   Specified other material properties; and    -   Certain distribution of grain orientations.

CTE Tailoring Process (4900)-(6200) Potential Heat Treatment Selection

The potential heat treatment selection is based on the followingprocessing parameters:

Heat Treatment Temperature

The heat treatment temperature will influence the phases that can becreated at a given material composition. Is can be adjusted toaccelerate or change the volume fraction of phases and the time it takesto reach a tailorable thermal expansion coefficient phase or phases.

Heat Treatment Time

The heat treatment time will influence the relative size, shape, volumefraction and of phases present in the material. Selecting and refiningthe time can influence the tailored thermal expansion properties as wellas the other material properties. The temperature is selected based onthe temperature.

Phase Diagram Database

Phase diagrams consisting of the composition and temperature dependenceof phases in a material provide input for heat treatment selection. FIG.61 (6100) provides an example of a Ti—Nb phase diagram showing thealpha, beta, and liquid phase transitions as a function of relativecomposition.

Tailorable Phases (6100)

Different phases of a single material chemistry and composition willexhibit different thermal expansion magnitudes and signs at the atomiclevel in different crystal directions. To achieve a tailored thermalexpansion response, the tailorable phase must be present. For example,the beta phase of the TiNb material is the precursor to the tailorablemartensitic phase. The TiNb phase diagram depicted in FIG. 61 (6100)shows the temperature where the beta phase is stable and will result ina tailorable thermal expansion material. Additionally, there may bemultiple tailorable phases that exist.

The tailorable phase or phases may be mixed with other phases thatcannot be tailored to produce a multi-phase material. The tailorablephase would allow tailored thermal expansion to be created while theother phases would change or improve the Other Material Properties. Forexample, a 20% atomic Nb content TiNb material could be heat treated at500 C to produce a mixture of phases. The alpha phase would strengthenthe material while the beta phase would allow the tailored thermalexpansion processing.

Initial Deformation

Prior to heat treating, the material may be rolled to between 0% and 90%reduction at room temperature or at an elevated temperature. Rollingreduction percentage is described elsewhere in this document.

Conduct Heat Treatment

The heat treatment is designed to create a material whose thermalexpansion coefficient can be tailored to a specific value via mechanicaldeformation.

Heat Treatment Time and Temperature

The heat treatment time and temperature will influence the type,relative size, shape, volume fraction and of phases present in thematerial. Selecting and refining the time and temperature can influencethe tailored thermal expansion properties as well as the other materialproperties.

Raw Ingot Preparation

Cleaning/Surface Preparation—Removing an existing oxide layer orpassivation layer (oil or polymer) may be required using acid etching,mechanical grinding, organic solvents or any combination of these threeprior to melting. Additionally, surfaces may be planed or machined tospecific dimensions prior to processing.

Coating/Inert Atmosphere—Coating the ingot with a glass coating orsealing it in an inert atmosphere to prevent corrosion and oxidation mayor may not be necessary.

Recursive Heat Treatment Development

After the heat treatment process, the oxidation, thermal expansioncoefficients and other material properties can be evaluated to ensurethey are within specified parameters. If the measured thermal expansioncoefficients, oxidation or other material properties do not meetrequirements, different alloy processing parameters are selected. Thiscan be done until all thermal expansion coefficient and other materialproperties are achieved.

Deformation Process Selection (6200)-(12000)

The deformation process will influence the thermal expansioncoefficient, thermal expansion coefficient anisotropy, other materialproperties, and form factor. For clarification, these deformationprocessing are confined to the production and processing of materials toproduce simple shapes and geometries that include, but are not limitedto bars, rods, tubes, pipes, squares, angles, rounds, wires, beams,plates, sheets, pucks, and buttons. More complex geometries and shapesare discussed in the component fabrication section.

Deformation Process Database

The degree or percentage of deformation is proportional to the thermalexpansion magnitude while the direction of the force (tensile orcompressive) will influence the sign of the thermal expansioncoefficient. Multiple passes and combinations of different deformationprocesses can be performed in series to produce a unique thermalexpansion coefficients and thermal expansion coefficient anisotropy forall of the mechanical deformation processes described below.

Rolling (6200)-(6400). As generally depicted in FIG. (6200)-FIG. 64(6400), rolling is a process of reducing a material's thickness bypassing it through rollers whose distance is smaller than the material'sthickness. The amount of deformation is measured in percent (%) and isequal to the change in thickness divided by the original thickness.Below is an equation relating to FIG. 62 (6200)-FIG. 64 (6400) thatrepresents the rolling process and deformation percentage with t_(i)representing the initial material thickness and t_(f) representing thefinal material thickness after rolling:

$\begin{matrix}{{{RollingDeformation}\mspace{14mu} (\%)} = {100 \times \frac{t_{i} - t_{f}}{t_{i}}}} & (10)\end{matrix}$

As depicted in FIG. 64 (6400), the rolling direction (RD) and normaldirection (ND) are in the plane of the image while the transversedirection (TD) is perpendicular to the image. Co-Rolling is the processof rolling two different materials together so they fuse and create abi-metal or multi-layered strip of different materials. This co-rollingprocess can be used to combine other materials that change or improvethe Other Material Properties with tailored thermal expansion alloys.

Extruding (6500)-(8000). As generally depicted in FIG. 65 (6500)-FIG. 80(8000), extrusion is the process of pushing a large piece of materialthrough a die with a smaller cross-sectional area using a ram. The forcefor extruding is applied to the ram the squeezes the material throughthe die. The initial shape of the material is simple and the die'scross-sectional shape can be simple or complex. The images in FIG. 65(6500)-FIG. 80 (8000) show the process of extrusion with the arrowsshowing the extrusion direction (ED) along the direction the materialexits the die. The transverse direction (TD) is perpendicular to the ED.The deformation percent may be determined by comparing the initial andfinal cross-sectional areas with A_(i) representing the initial areaprior to extrusion and A_(f) representing the final area afterextrusion.

$\begin{matrix}{{{ExtrusionDeformation}\mspace{14mu} (\%)} = {100 \times \frac{A_{i} - A_{f}}{A_{i}}}} & (11)\end{matrix}$

The deformation process orients or textures the crystals in a particulardirection creating a tailored thermal expansion response. Thisdeformation process may be accomplished using direct extrusion asdepicted in FIG. 65 (6500)-FIG. 72 (7200) or indirect extrusion asdepicted in FIG. 73 (7300)-FIG. 80 (8000). The dies illustrated depict ahexagonal extrusion profile as an example but any die extrusion profilemay be used with these processes. Additionally, the ram cylinders aredepicted as cylindrical but may be of any peripheral shape.

Co-Extruding refers to the process of wrapping or coating theun-deformed material with another material whose thermal expansioncoefficient may or may not be tailorable and then extruding the materialthrough a die. This co-extruding process can be used to combine othermaterials that change or improve the Other Material Properties withtailored thermal expansion alloys. If the other material is placed onthe outside, it is called a can and if it is placed on the inside, it iscalled a mandrel. The mandrel may be left as part of the final materialor removed to create a hollow tube. The can may also be left as part ofthe final material or removed.

Drawing (8100)-(8700). As generally depicted in FIG. 81 (8100)-FIG. 87(8700), drawing is the process of pulling a material through a die witha smaller cross-sectional area that the original material piece. Itdiffers from extrusion by the pulling action that places the originalmaterial piece in tension rather than a pressing action that places thematerial in compression. The transverse direction (TD) is perpendicularto the drawing direction (DD). The deformation percent may be determinedby comparing the initial and final cross-sectional areas with A_(i)representing the initial area prior to extrusion and A_(f) representingthe final area after extrusion.

$\begin{matrix}{{{ExtrusionDeformation}\mspace{14mu} (\%)} = {100 \times \frac{A_{i} - A_{f}}{A_{i}}}} & (12)\end{matrix}$

The deformation process orients or textures the crystals in a particulardirection creating a tailored thermal expansion response.

Co-Drawing (8800) as generally depicted in the front sectional view ofFIG. 88 (8800) refers to the process of wrapping or coating theun-deformed material with another material whose thermal expansioncoefficient may or may not be tailorable and then drawing the materialthrough a die. This co-drawing process can be used to combine othermaterials that change or improve the Other Material Properties withtailored thermal expansion alloys. If the other material is placed onthe outside, it is called a can and if it is placed on the inside, it iscalled a mandrel. The mandrel may be left as part of the final materialor removed to create a hollow tube. The can may also be left as part ofthe final material or removed.

Deep Drawing (8900)-(9600). As generally depicted in FIG. 89 (8900)-FIG.96 (9600), deep drawing is the process of using a punch to press a flatmaterial blank through a die to create a hollowed cup or structure. Herethe die base (8901) is coupled to a number of die guides (8902) thatmate with a blank holder (8903) that traverses through and guides a die(8904) to form a blank (8911) that is retained by the blank holder(8903) as generally depicted in the sequence of FIG. 91 (9100)-FIG. 96(9600). The blank (8911) takes on the shape (9611) of the punch (8904)as it is forced through the die (8901). The deformation process orientsor textures the crystals in a particular direction creating a tailoredthermal expansion response. Due to the complex shape change, it isdifficult to calculate percent deformation, but mathematical engineeringtools can be used to determine the deformation and thus the changes tothe thermal expansion coefficient.

Forging (9700)-(10000). As generally depicted in FIG. 97 (9700)-FIG. 100(10000), forging is the process of pressing a work material (9710, 9910)between two dies (9711, 9712, 9911, 9912). A force F is applied betweenthe two dies (9711, 9712, 9911, 9912) as the dies (9711, 9712, 9911,9912) are impressed together with a given velocity V to form the workmaterial (9710, 9910) into a work product (9720, 9920). Open-die forgingis between two flat dies while impression-die forging is between dieswith a pre-defined shape. The material takes on the shape of theimpression during impression-die forging. The deformation processorients or textures the crystals in a particular direction creating atailored thermal expansion response. Due to the complex shape change, itis difficult to calculate percent deformation, but mathematicalengineering tools can be used to determine the deformation and thus thechanges to the thermal expansion coefficient. Co-Forging refers to theprocess of wrapping or coating the un-deformed material with anothermaterial whose thermal expansion coefficient may or may not betailorable and then drawing the material through a die. This co-forgingprocess can be used to combine other materials that change or improvethe Other Material Properties with tailored thermal expansion alloys.

Tensile Deformation (10100)-(10400). As generally depicted in FIG. 101(10100)-FIG. 104 (10400), tensile deformation is achieved by pulling ona material along a certain direction. As the material becomesplastically deformed (i.e., permanently deformed even after the force isremoved), the material becomes longer along tensile direction andthinner along the perpendicular directions. The deformation processorients or textures the crystals in a particular direction creating atailored thermal expansion response. Below is an image with the tensileloading direction along the x-axis and the perpendicular directionsalong the y- and z-axes. The equation for determining deformationpercent is given by the final material length L_(f) minus the initialmaterial length L_(i) divided by the initial material length L_(i).

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{{TensileDeformation}\mspace{14mu} (\%)} = {100 \times \frac{L_{f} - L_{i}}{L_{i}}}} \\{= {100 \times \frac{\Delta \; L}{L}}}\end{matrix} & (13)\end{matrix}$

Torsional Deformation (10500)-(10800). As generally depicted in FIG. 105(10500)-FIG. 108 (10800), torsional deformation is the permanentdeformation by a torque applied to a solid or hollow structure. Thedeformation process orients or textures the crystals in a particulardirection creating a tailored thermal expansion response. Thedeformation percent is a function of the rotational angle θ, thedistance from the center of rotation D, and the material length L.

$\begin{matrix}{{{TorsionalDeformation}\mspace{14mu} (\%)} = {100 \times \frac{\theta \; D}{2L}}} & (14)\end{matrix}$

Other Deformation Processes. Other deformation processes that deform thetailorable thermal expansion material will tailor the thermal expansionmagnitude, sign, and anisotropy. These include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Swaging (generally depicted in FIG. 109 (10900)-FIG. 112        (11200)) (here the rotating chuck (10910) is fitted with movable        die jaws (10901, 10902, 10903, 10904) that open and close to        operate on a swaging blank (feed bar or tube) (10921) to produce        a manufactured product (10922));    -   Pounding/Hammering;    -   Bending (generally depicted in FIG. 113 (11300)-FIG. 115        (11500)); and    -   Stamping (generally depicted in FIG. 116 (11600) using a        stamping press to perform the deformation).        Any force applied by any method that results in a preferred        crystal orientation after the force is applied will tailor the        thermal expansion coefficient of tailorable thermal expansion        materials. As generally depicted in FIG. 117 (11700), for        solids, the deformation in three directions can be represented        by displacements u_(x), u_(y), and u_(z) in the three principle        material directions using Cartesian coordinates x, y and z.

The level or degree of deformation can be represented using solidmechanics by the three dimensional strain tensor {tilde over (ε)} by theequation:

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\sim}{ɛ} = \begin{bmatrix}\frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial x} & {\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial y} + \frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial x}} \right)} & {\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial z} + \frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial x}} \right)} \\{\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial x} + \frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial y}} \right)} & \frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial y} & {\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial z} + \frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial y}} \right)} \\{\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial x} + \frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial z}} \right)} & {\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial y} + \frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial z}} \right)} & \frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial z}\end{bmatrix}}{where}} & (15) \\{\frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial x},} & (16) \\{\frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial y},{and}} & (17) \\\frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial z} & (18)\end{matrix}$

represent the strain in the x, y and z directions, respectively, and

$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial y} + \frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial x}} \right)},} & (19) \\{{\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{x}}{\partial z} + \frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial x}} \right)},{and}} & (20) \\{\frac{1}{2}\left( {\frac{\partial u_{y}}{\partial z} + \frac{\partial u_{z}}{\partial y}} \right)} & (21)\end{matrix}$

represent the shear strain in the x-y plane, x-z plane and y-z plane,respectively.

Isotropy Requirements

Isotropy refers to the material specification that requires thespecified thermal expansion coefficient to be in one, two or threematerial directions. The mechanical deformation processes from thedeformation database orient crystals. The degree of crystal orientationin a material is called “texture” and depends on the material's initialtexture from casting and the deformation type.

Deformation Direction Dependence. The isotropy is determined by the waythe material is deformed. Permanent shape change such as shear fromshear stress, elongation from tensile stress, and thinning fromcompressive stress will produce a change in the thermal expansioncoefficient of the tailorable thermal expansion materials.

Deformation Type Isotropy. Different thermal expansion coefficients inthree material directions. The following deformation processes are usedproduce tailored thermal expansion if the requires three dimensionalanisotropy.

Rolling. Rolling produces elongation along RD, elongation along TD andthinning along ND. The elongation is larger along the RD than the TDresulting in different thermal expansion coefficients in each materialdirection. The elongation and thinning orient the material's crystalsalong the direction of rolling resulting in the different thermalexpansion coefficients. The FIG. 118 (11800) schematically shows thedifference in crystals before and after rolling. The degree of crystalorientation in a material is called “texture.”

Extruding and Drawing. Extruding and drawing complex shapes that haveasymmetric cross-sectional shapes elongate material along the ED andthin material in the TD plane. The degree of thinning deformation isdependent upon the die shape and will produce different thermalexpansion coefficients in each material direction.

Forging. Forging using dies that are asymmetric in the planeperpendicular to the applied force produce non-uniform elongation in theplane perpendicular to the force and thinning parallel to the force. Thedegree of thinning and elongation is depending upon the die shape andforce applied and will produce thermal expansion coefficients that aredifferent in each material direction.

Pounding and Hammering. Pounding or hammering that produces non-uniformdeformation in three material directions will produce different crystalorientations and thus different thermal expansion coefficients in threematerial directions.

Uniform thermal expansion coefficients in two material directions and adifferent thermal expansion coefficient in the third material direction.The following deformation processes are used produce tailored thermalexpansion if the material requirement is two dimensional isotropy.

Extruding, Drawing and Swaging. Extruding and wire drawing produce thesame deformation profile provided the initial material, final materialand dies are the same size and shape. Extruding and drawing simpleshapes such as round rods, bars, and wires are elongated along the ED/DDand thinned along TD. This results in the thermal expansion coefficientbeing isotropic in the TD plane, but different in the ED/DD direction(i.e., CTE isotropy in the TD plane and anisotropy along the bar'slength).

Forging. Forging using open-dies and dies that are symmetric in theplane perpendicular to the applied force produce uniform elongation inthe plane perpendicular to the force and thinning parallel to the force.The degree of thinning and elongation is depending upon the die shapeand force applied and will produce uniform thermal expansioncoefficients in the plane perpendicular to the force and a differentthermal expansion coefficient that is parallel to the force.

Pounding and Hammering. Pounding or hammering that produces uniformdeformation in two material directions will create isotropic thermalexpansion coefficients in two directions and a different thermalexpansion in the third direction.

Deep Drawing. Deep drawing that produces uniform deformation in twomaterial directions will create isotropic thermal expansion coefficientsin two directions and a different thermal expansion in the thirddirection.

Tensile Deformation. Tensile deformation of a material with a uniformcross section causes elongation along the loaded direction and uniformthinning perpendicular to the loaded direction. This deformation willcreate isotropic thermal expansion coefficients in the two directionsperpendicular to the load and a different thermal expansion in the thirddirection.

Other Isotropy. Other isotropy can be created based on the type andcomplexity of the deformation. The following deformation processes areused produce tailored thermal expansion if the specification requires“internal material location dependent.” These deformations createdifferent levels or degrees of deformation in different locations withinthe material. The deformation degree represented by the strain tensor{tilde over (ε)} is different at all points in the material. Thus thethermal expansion coefficients will not only be different in differentmaterial directions, but different locations in the material.

Bending. As generally depicted in FIG. 119 (11900)—FIG. 120 (12000),bending causes non-uniform deformation along the bending radius. Largerdeformation magnitudes are experienced in material locations that arefurther away from the neutral axis. Additionally, the outer materialexperiences elongation while the inner material experiences compression.This shape change will orient crystals and change the thermal expansioncoefficient of the material at different locations within the piece.This will result in a unique material that will curl and uncurl withchanges in temperature.

Torsional Deformation. Torsion causes non-uniform deformation outwardfrom the center of the torque. Larger deformation magnitudes areexperienced in material locations that are further away from therotation axis. Additionally, the material experiences shear deformationaround the rotation. This shape change will orient crystals and changethe thermal expansion coefficient of the material at different locationswithin the piece.

Form Factor Requirements

The various form factor parametric requirements can be summarized asfollows:

Plate and Sheet—can be produced by rolling;

Round Wire, bar, and rod—can be produced by drawing, extrusion andswaging;

Square wire, bar, and rod—can be produced by drawing, extrusion androlling;

Tubes—can be produced by drawing, extrusion and swaging with or withouta mandrel;

Cups and Hollow Structures—can be produced by deep drawing; Curvedbeams—can be produced by bending;

Beams with complex cross-sections—can be produced by drawing; and

Other Shapes—all shapes described above and complex shapes can beproduced using machining.

Processing Variables

Initial Crystal Orientation. The initial orientations of crystals willinfluence the final orientation of crystals and thus the thermalexpansion coefficients that can be achieved.

Final Deformation Percent. As stated previously, the deformation level,degree or percentage will influence the amount of crystal orientationand thus influence the thermal expansion coefficients that can beachieved. This is described mathematically elsewhere in this documentfor all the deformation methods described.

Material Temperature. The material's temperature will naturally increaseduring deformation. Various methods can be used to control thistemperature including water cooling and lubricant. Additionally, thematerial may be heated or cooled to a specific temperature and held fora specific time prior to or after the deformation process.

Deforming Equipment Temperature. The deforming equipment may be heatedor cooled to a specific temperature and held there for a specific amountof time prior to material processing.

Quenching Type. After processing, the material may or may not bequenched in water, oil, air, or held at a specific temperature again.

Ingot Preparation

Ingot preparation may involve any of the following processes:

-   -   Surface Preparation—Cleaning, Coating, Lubricating, Planing,        Grinding, Brushing, Plating, Canning;    -   Material Temperature—Time to heat, furnace type; and/or    -   Material Dimensions.

The ingot is then typically deformed per an initially selected processafter it is prepared as described above.

Recursive Processing

Any combination of variables and deformation processes can be conductedin series to create a specific form factor and specified CTE profile.After the processing, the thermal expansion coefficients and othermaterial properties can be evaluated to ensure they are within specifiedparameters. If the measured thermal expansion coefficients, oxidation orother material properties do not meet requirements, different alloyprocessing parameters are selected and the material is re-worked.Additionally, the original heat treatment can be performed to reset thecrystal orientation distribution. This can be performed recursivelyuntil all thermal expansion coefficient and other material propertiesare achieved.

Multiple Passes

Step Size—Material processing from an initial dimension to a finaldimension taken in one step or may be broken into any number of smallerstep sizes. Each step requires a single pass through the materialprocess. Smaller step sizes provide additional control while larger stepsizes bring the material to the final dimension more quickly. The stepsize can be the same or different from each pass.

The processed material may be re-oriented between steps to create adesired thermal expansion coefficient magnitude, sign and isotropy. Forexample, a rolled sheet may be rotated between each pass to achieve auniform thermal expansion coefficient in the rolled plane.

Resulting Material

The end result of this processing produces a unique material with:

-   -   specified CTE values;    -   specified CTE isotropy;    -   specified other material properties; and    -   specified form factor.

Component Fabrication Fabrication Process Selection

Component fabrication generally requires the following data and processdefinitions:

-   -   Fabrication Process Database    -   Component Form Factor Requirements specified by engineering        diagrams with physical dimensions and tolerances specified.    -   Fabrication Process Changes to CTE—any and all fabrication        processes that deform the material may change the thermal        expansion coefficient. These changes may or may not be designed        to achieve a specific function.

Conduct Fabrication Process

The component fabrication process may include any combination of thefollowing process flows:

-   -   Tailored CTE Material Preparation:        -   Surface Preparation—Coating, Lubricating (fluid and solid),            Planing, Grinding, Brushing, Plating, Canning;        -   Material Temperature—Time to heat, furnace type;    -   Material Dimensions—Rough Cutting, Blank Preparation;    -   Optional Heat Treatment;    -   Material Removal—Milling, Lathing, Cutting, Parting, Punching,        Drawing, Pressing, Shearing, Polishing, Grinding, Bending,        Rolling, Sawing, Electro-discharge machining (wire, ram,        others);    -   Material Addition—Plating, Coating, 3-D Printing, additive        manufacturing; and/or    -   Material Joining—Welding (various types), Gluing (various        types), Mechanical Fasteners (various types).

Recursive Component Fabrication

Any combination of variables and component fabrication processes can beconducted in series to create a specific form factor and specified CTEprofile. These fabrication processes can also be combined with materialforming processes to produce a unique product. After the fabrication,the thermal expansion coefficients and other material properties can beevaluated to ensure they are within specified parameters. If themeasured form factor, thermal expansion coefficients, or other materialproperties do not meet requirements, different alloy processing and/orcomponent fabrication parameters are selected and the material isre-worked. This can be performed recursively until all thermal expansioncoefficient and other material properties are achieved.

Resulting Component

The described process results in a unique component with:

-   -   specified CTE values;    -   specified CTE isotropy;    -   specified other material properties; and    -   specified physical dimensions within tolerances.

Application Example High Precision Laser

One example of a present invention application is in the area of highprecision lasers. Solid state lasers used in the telecommunicationsindustry are currently limited in their ability to transmit a number ofwavelengths along a fiber optic cable due to thermal mechanicalcharacteristics of the laser packaging and associated solid statesubstrate supports. Generally speaking, lasers used in this environmentare limited in their data-rate performance by uncontrolled thermalexpansion of mechanical elements associated with the laser.

A reduction of the thermal coefficient of expansion (or equivalently acomplementary matching of coefficients of thermal expansion within thelaser subsystem so as to achieve an overall zero temperature coefficientof expansion) within mechanical portions of the laser can result in anincrease in the number of data channels that can be supported within agiven fiber optic cable. The goal of the telecommunications industry hasalways been to increase the number of effective data channels within agiven fiber-optic cable, as the cost of laying additional strands offiber-optic cable to increase overall network data capacity is typicallyon the order of USD$50000/mile and in some extreme circumstances canapproach USD$1000000/mile. By increasing the number of effective datachannels in a given fiber optic cable, the telecommunications industrycan address the need for increased overall data bandwidth withoutincurring the cost of laying additional cable. Given the USD$50000/mileof laying new fiber optic cable, there is an extremely high incentivewithin the telecommunication industry to achieve higher bandwidth percable using the existing fiber optic cable infrastructure. This cantypically occur by replacing the laser transmission subsystems withinthis fiber optic cable infrastructure with laser subsystems havinghigher data bandwidth capabilities.

Exemplary System Construction (12100)-(12800)

A preferred exemplary system embodiment is generally depicted in FIG.121 (12100)-FIG. 128 (12800).

Exemplary System (12100)

Referencing FIG. 121 (12100), a general system diagram depicting anexemplary automated system for fabricating product materials havingcontrolled thermal coefficient characteristics is depicted. Within thisexemplary manufacturing system context, an operator (12101) interactswith a computing control device (CCD) (12102) typically utilizing agraphical user interface (GUI) implemented on the CCD (12102) viaexecution of machine instructions read from a computer readable medium(12103). Within this context a source materials database (SMD) (12104)is utilized to select appropriate materials for fabrication and definethe desired thermal coefficient characteristics of the terminallymanufactured product (12120). A wide variety of material characteristicsmay be selected during this process and may include without limitationproperties such as desired coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE),corrosion resistance, ductility, etc.

At this point the material is selected (12110) and sent through a numberof automated processing steps controlled by the CCD (12102) undercontrol of machine instructions read from the computer readable medium(12103). These computer-controlled processing steps may includeprocessing by the following components:

-   -   Vacuum Induction Melting Furnace (12111), responsible for        loading raw elemental material into furnace at correct ratios,        pulling vacuum using rouging pump and turbo pump, inductively        melting material elements, pouring molten material into a mold;    -   Rolling Mill (12112), responsible for pre-forming plate using        hot rolling, heating a material billet to a designated        temperature, rolling heated ingot in a rolling mill to a desired        thickness;    -   Shear Press (12113), responsible for placing rolled plate        material in a shear press, rough cutting to desired        pre-CTE-tailoring dimensions (this system component may take        many forms and will by necessity be application specific in        nature, but are known in the art);    -   Hydraulic Tensioner (12114), responsible for loading rough cut        plate into a tensioner, pulling the plate along a predetermined        axis to desired displacement to create a predetermined CTE, and        using strain gauges and computer control to ensure a desired        material deformation;    -   CNC Mill (12115), responsible for machining sides of the CTE        tailored material to desired dimensions and tolerances;    -   Laser Cutter (12116), responsible for loading plate into a laser        cutter, and cutting the material to final form to form the        terminal material product (12120).

The resulting terminal material product (TMP) (12120) may be defined bysolid modeling application software running under control of the CCD(12102) under direction of the operator (12101). In this applicationcontext, the terminal material product (TMP) (12120) may be manufacturedwith a uniform thermal expansion coefficient or regions of differentthermal expansion coefficient as dictated by the solid modeling softwarein conjunction with operation of the system components described above.

Exemplary System Operation (12200)

A flowchart depicting the operation of the system depicted in FIG. 121(12100) is generally provided in FIG. 122 (12200) and includes thefollowing method steps:

-   -   (1) With the CCD, defining a 3D model of the terminal material        product (TMP) (12201);    -   (2) With the CCD, specifying the coefficient of thermal        expansion (CTE) for a suitable source material (SSM) via        inspection of the source material database (SMD) (12202);    -   (3) Based on results provided by the CCD interaction with the        SMD, selecting a suitable source material (SSM) for preparation        (12203);    -   (4) Under control of the CCD, preparing the SSM using computer        control of the vacuum induction melting furnace (VMF), rolling        mill (RM), and shear press (SP) (12204);    -   (5) Under control of the CCD, deforming the prepared SSM        material with a hydraulic tensioner (HT) to produce the desired        CTE performance in the SSM material (12205); and    -   (6) Under control of the CCD, fabricating the TMP using a CNC        mill (CCM) and laser cutter (LC) to transform the SSM after CTE        transformation into the final TMP physical form (12207).        This operational flow may be modified in a variety of        application contexts but illustrates how a TMP may be designed        and fabricated using an automated system in which the processing        is tightly controlled throughout the manufacturing process to        enable the CTE of the TMP to be specified within narrow windows        of control. Furthermore, the operation as described above while        illustrating only a single CTE that is controlled may be        modified in some applications to provide for a TMP having        numerous 2D areas or 3D regions of differing CTE        characteristics. Thus, the 3D model generated by the CCD may be        used to specify a variety of areas/regions having different CTE        characteristics within the same unitary fabricated TMP.

Exemplary System Components (12300)-(12800)

Various system components useful in the creation of the manufacturingsystem described above are depicted in FIG. 123 (12300)-FIG. 128(12800), including the Vacuum Induction Melting Furnace (VMF) (FIG. 123(12300)), Rolling Mill (RM) (FIG. 124 (12400)), Shear Press (SP) (FIG.125 (12500)), Hydraulic Tensioner (HT) (FIG. 125 (12500), FIG. 126(12600)), CNC Mill (CCM) (FIG. 127 (12700)), and Laser Cutter (LC) (FIG.128 (12800)).

System Summary

The present invention system may be broadly generalized as a controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing system comprising:

-   -   (a) computing control device (CCD);    -   (b) source materials database (SMD);    -   (c) vacuum induction melting furnace (VMF);    -   (d) rolling mill (RM);    -   (e) shear press (SP);    -   (f) hydraulic tensioner (HT);    -   (g) CNC mill (CCM); and    -   (h) laser cutter (LC);    -   wherein:    -   the CCD is configured to interact with an operator to define a        terminal material product (TMP) using a graphical user interface        (GUI);    -   the GUI is configured to define the TMP in terms of terminal        material dimensions (TMD) and thermal coefficient of expansion        (TEC);    -   the CCD is configured to communicate with the SMD to select a        suitable source material (SSM) in response to the interaction        with the operator and source material properties stored in the        SMD;    -   the CCD is electrically coupled to and configured to control the        VMF, the RM, the SP, the HT, the CCM, and the LC;    -   the SSM is a metallic material;    -   the VMF is configured to load raw elemental SSM into a furnace        at determined ratios by the CCD, pulling vacuum using a rouging        pump and turbo pump, inductively melting elements of the SSM,        pouring the molten SSM into a graphite crucible, and pre-forming        plate using hot rolling of the molten SSM;    -   the RM is configured to heating a billet of the SSM formed by        the VMF to a designated temperature in a box furnace, rolling        the heated SSM billet in a rolling mill to a desired thickness,        and cutting the rolled and heated SSM billet to size;    -   the SP is configured to place rolled SSM plate in a shear press        and rough cutting the SSM plate to desired pre-CTE-tailoring        dimensions;    -   the HT is configured to load the rough cut SSM plate into a        tensioner, pulling the rough cut SSM plate along an axis to        desired displacement to create a first and second thermal        expansion characteristic corresponding to a first and second        predetermined range of coefficient of thermal expansion in a        drawn SSM material by deforming the SSM material, and using        strain gauges under control of the CCD to ensure a desired        predetermined deformation;    -   the CCM is configured to machine sides of the drawn SSM material        to predetermined dimensions and tolerances to form a        CTE-tailored SSM plate; and    -   the LC is configured to load the CTE-tailored plate into a laser        cutter and cutting the CTE-tailored plate to a final form of the        TMP.

This general system summary may be augmented by the various elementsdescribed herein to produce a wide variety of invention embodimentsconsistent with this overall design description.

Method #1 Embodiment Summary

A first exemplary embodiment of the present invention method may bebroadly generalized as a controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method comprising:

-   -   (1) deforming a metallic material comprising a first phase and a        first thermal expansion characteristic having a first thermal        expansion coefficient;    -   (2) transforming, in response to the deforming, at least some of        the first phase into a second phase having a second thermal        expansion coefficient; and    -   (3) orienting the metallic material in at least one        predetermined orientation;    -   wherein:    -   the second phase comprises martensite;    -   the metallic material, subsequent to deformation, comprises a        second thermal expansion characteristic having a second thermal        expansion coefficient;    -   the second thermal expansion coefficient is within a        predetermined range; and    -   the second thermal expansion characteristic is in at least one        predetermined direction.        This general method may be modified heavily depending on a        number of factors, with rearrangement and/or addition/deletion        of steps anticipated by the scope of the present invention.        Integration of this and other preferred exemplary embodiment        methods in conjunction with a variety of preferred exemplary        embodiment systems described herein is anticipated by the        overall scope of the present invention.

Method #2 Embodiment Summary

A second exemplary embodiment of the present invention method may bebroadly generalized as a controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method comprising:

-   -   (1) deforming a metallic material substantially comprising a        first phase by applying tension in a first direction; and    -   (2) transforming the metallic material via application of the        tension from the first phase into a second phase;    -   wherein:    -   the metallic material, subsequent to deformation, exhibits a        negative thermal expansion characteristic having a negative        coefficient of thermal expansion within a predetermined range;        and    -   the negative coefficient of thermal expansion is in at least the        first direction.        This general method may be modified heavily depending on a        number of factors, with rearrangement and/or addition/deletion        of steps anticipated by the scope of the present invention.        Integration of this and other preferred exemplary embodiment        methods in conjunction with a variety of preferred exemplary        embodiment systems described herein is anticipated by the        overall scope of the present invention.

Method #3 Embodiment Summary

A third exemplary embodiment of the present invention method may bebroadly generalized as a controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method comprising:

-   -   (1) deforming a metallic material substantially comprising a        first phase; and    -   (2) transforming at least some of the metallic material from the        first phase to a second phase using a compressive force in a        first direction;    -   wherein:    -   the metallic material, subsequent to the deformation, comprises        a negative thermal expansion characteristic having a negative        coefficient of thermal expansion within a predetermined range;        and    -   the negative thermal expansion characteristic, subsequent to the        deformation, is in at least a second direction, wherein the        second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.        This general method may be modified heavily depending on a        number of factors, with rearrangement and/or addition/deletion        of steps anticipated by the scope of the present invention.        Integration of this and other preferred exemplary embodiment        methods in conjunction with a variety of preferred exemplary        embodiment systems described herein is anticipated by the        overall scope of the present invention.

Method #4 Embodiment Summary

A fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention method may bebroadly generalized as a controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method comprising:

-   -   (1) deforming a metallic material; and    -   (2) orienting the metallic material in at least one        predetermined orientation in response to the deforming;    -   wherein:    -   the metallic material comprises a martensitic phase; the        metallic material exhibits a first thermal expansion        characteristic having a first thermal expansion coefficient        prior to the deformation;    -   the metallic material, subsequent to deformation, exhibits a        second thermal expansion characteristic having a second thermal        expansion coefficient;    -   the second thermal expansion coefficient is within a        predetermined range; and    -   the second thermal expansion characteristic is in at least one        predetermined direction.        This general method may be modified heavily depending on a        number of factors, with rearrangement and/or addition/deletion        of steps anticipated by the scope of the present invention.        Integration of this and other preferred exemplary embodiment        methods in conjunction with a variety of preferred exemplary        embodiment systems described herein is anticipated by the        overall scope of the present invention.

System/Method Variations

The present invention anticipates a wide variety of variations in thebasic theme of construction. The examples presented previously do notrepresent the entire scope of possible usages. They are meant to cite afew of the almost limitless possibilities.

This basic system, method, and product-by-process may be augmented witha variety of ancillary embodiments, including but not limited to:

-   -   An embodiment wherein the metallic material comprises a material        selected from a group consisting of:        -   (1) a material characterized by a general formula            Ti_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo,            Ta, Pd, Pt, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range            from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition;        -   (2) a material characterized by a general formula            Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Pd,            Hf, Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations            thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent            composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent            composition such that A plus B is less than 100;    -   (3) a material characterized by a general formula        Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn,        Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations        thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent        composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent        composition such that A plus B is less than 100;    -   (4) a material characterized by a general formula        Ti_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn,        Nb, Zr, Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations        thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent        composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent        composition such that A plus B is less than 100;    -   (5) a material characterized by a general formula        Ni_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In,        Sn, Al, Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is        less than 100;    -   (6) a material characterized by a general formula        Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of        Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0        to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in a range from 0 to        50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus C is less        than 100;    -   (7) a material characterized by a general formula        Ni_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50        atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50        atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;    -   (8) a material characterized by a general formula        Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al,        Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 75        atomic percent composition;    -   (9) a material characterized by a general formula        Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,        Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to        50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50        atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;    -   (10) a material characterized by a general formula        Cu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of        Zn, Ni, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0        to 50 atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50        atomic percent composition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50        atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus C is less        than 100;    -   (11) a material characterized by a general formula        Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Ga,        Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0        to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to        50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than        100;    -   (12) a material characterized by a general formula        Fe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni,        Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is        less than 100;    -   (13) a material characterized by a general formula        Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Mn,        Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is        less than 100;    -   (14) a material characterized by a general formula        Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one        of Ti, Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a        range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, C is in a range from 0        to 50 atomic percent composition, and D is in a range from 0 to        50 atomic percent composition such that such that A plus B plus        C plus D is less than 100;    -   (15) a material characterized by a general formula        Fe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one        of Al, Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a        range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, B is in a range        from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, C is in a range from 0        to 50 atomic percent composition, and D is in a range from 0 to        50 atomic percent composition such that such that A plus B plus        C plus D is less than 100;    -   An embodiment wherein the deforming is achieved by at least one        of:    -   (1) hot-rolling;    -   (2) cold-rolling;    -   (3) wire drawing;    -   (4) plain strain compression;    -   (5) bi-axial tension;    -   (6) conform processing;    -   (7) bending;    -   (8) drawing;    -   (9) wire-drawing;    -   (10) swaging;    -   (11) conventional extrusion;    -   (12) equal channel angular extrusion;    -   (13) precipitation heat treatment under stress;    -   (14) tempering;    -   (15) annealing;    -   (16) sintering;    -   (17) tension processing;    -   (18) compression processing;    -   (19) torsion processing;    -   (20) cyclic thermal training under stress; and    -   (21) combinations thereof.    -   An embodiment wherein the predetermined range of the coefficient        of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10 ⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to +500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.    -   An embodiment wherein the deforming of the metallic material        further comprises texturing the metallic material in a direction        comprising at least one of a [111], a [100], or a [001]        direction.    -   An embodiment wherein the second thermal expansion coefficient        is negative.    -   An embodiment wherein the sum of the first thermal expansion        coefficient and the second thermal expansion coefficient is        zero.    -   An embodiment wherein:    -   the deforming the metallic material comprises applying tension        in at least one direction; and    -   the second thermal expansion characteristic subsequent to the        deformation is in the at least one direction.    -   An embodiment wherein:    -   the deforming the metallic material comprises applying        compression in a first direction;    -   the second thermal expansion characteristic subsequent to the        deformation is in at least one predetermined direction; and the        at least one predetermined direction is perpendicular to the        first direction.    -   An embodiment wherein:    -   the deforming the metallic material comprises applying shear in        a first direction;    -   the second thermal expansion characteristic subsequent to        deformation is in at least one predetermined direction; and    -   the at least one predetermined direction is 45° to the first        direction.

One skilled in the art will recognize that other embodiments arepossible based on combinations of elements taught within the aboveinvention description.

Product-by-Process

The above described system and method may be applied to produce aproduct-by-process material that has a controlled thermal coefficient ofexpansion such that the material is superior to conventionalcompositions or alloys in which the thermal coefficient of expansion isnot controlled or known to be undesirable in certain applicationcontexts. For this reason the present invention encompasses theproduct-by-process of the disclosed system and method in part becausethe material characteristics of the product-by-process produced by thedisclosed system and/or method are significantly superior to (havingmore tightly controlled thermal expansion coefficients) and differentfrom that of materials known in the prior art.

CONCLUSION

A controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing system and methodis disclosed. The disclosed product relates to the manufacture ofmetallic material product (MMP) having a thermal expansion coefficient(TEC) in a predetermined range. The disclosed system and method providesfor a first material deformation (FMD) of the MMP that comprises atleast some of a first material phase (FMP) wherein the FMP comprisesmartensite randomly oriented and a first thermal expansion coefficient(FTC). In response to the FMD at least some of the FMP is oriented in atleast one predetermined orientation. Subsequent to deformation, the MMPcomprises a second thermal expansion coefficient (STC) that is within apredetermined range and wherein the thermal expansion of the MMP is inat least one predetermined direction. The MMP may be comprised of asecond material phase (SMP) that may or may not transform to the FMP inresponse to the FMD.

CLAIMS INTERPRETATION

The following rules apply when interpreting the CLAIMS of the presentinvention:

-   -   The CLAIM PREAMBLE should be considered as limiting the scope of        the claimed invention.    -   “WHEREIN” clauses should be considered as limiting the scope of        the claimed invention.    -   “WHEREBY” clauses should be considered as limiting the scope of        the claimed invention.    -   “ADAPTED TO” clauses should be considered as limiting the scope        of the claimed invention.    -   “ADAPTED FOR” clauses should be considered as limiting the scope        of the claimed invention.    -   The term “MEANS” specifically invokes the means-plus-function        claims limitation recited in 35 U.S.C. §112(f) and such claim        shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure,        material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents        thereof.    -   The phrase “MEANS FOR” specifically invokes the        means-plus-function claims limitation recited in 35 U.S.C.        §112(f) and such claim shall be construed to cover the        corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the        specification and equivalents thereof.    -   The phrase “STEP FOR” specifically invokes the        step-plus-function claims limitation recited in 35 U.S.C.        §112(f) and such claim shall be construed to cover the        corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the        specification and equivalents thereof.    -   The step-plus-function claims limitation recited in 35 U.S.C.        §112(f) shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure,        material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents        thereof ONLY for such claims including the phrases “MEANS FOR”,        “MEANS”, or “STEP FOR”.    -   The phrase “AND/OR” in the context of an expression “X and/or Y”        should be interpreted to define the set of “(X and Y)” in union        with the set “(X or Y)” as interpreted by Ex Parte Gross (USPTO        Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Appeal 2011-004811, Ser. No.        11/565,411, (“‘and/or’ covers embodiments having element A        alone, B alone, or elements A and B taken together”).    -   The claims presented herein are to be interpreted in light of        the specification and drawings presented herein with        sufficiently narrow scope such as to not preempt any abstract        idea.    -   The claims presented herein are to be interpreted in light of        the specification and drawings presented herein with        sufficiently narrow scope such as to not preclude every        application of any idea.    -   The claims presented herein are to be interpreted in light of        the specification and drawings presented herein with        sufficiently narrow scope such as to preclude any basic mental        process that could be performed entirely in the human mind.    -   The claims presented herein are to be interpreted in light of        the specification and drawings presented herein with        sufficiently narrow scope such as to preclude any process that        could be performed entirely by human manual effort.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has beenillustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoingDetailed Description, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerousrearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing system comprising: (a) computing control device (CCD); (b)source materials database (SMD); (c) vacuum induction melting furnace(VMF); (d) rolling mill (RM); (e) shear press (SP); (f) hydraulictensioner (HT); (g) CNC mill (CCM); and (h) laser cutter (LC); wherein:said CCD is configured to interact with an operator to define a terminalmaterial product (TMP) using a graphical user interface (GUI); said GUIis configured to define said TMP in terms of terminal materialdimensions (TMD) and thermal coefficient of expansion (TEC); said CCD isconfigured to communicate with said SMD to select a suitable sourcematerial (SSM) in response to said interaction with said operator andsource material properties stored in said SMD; said CCD is electricallycoupled to and configured to control said VMF, said RM, said SP, saidHT, said CCM, and said LC; said SSM is a metallic material; said VMF isconfigured to load raw elemental SSM into a furnace at determined ratiosby said CCD, pulling vacuum using a rouging pump and turbo pump,inductively melting elements of said SSM, pouring said molten SSM into agraphite crucible, and pre-forming plate using hot rolling of saidmolten SSM; said RM is configured to heating a billet of said SSM formedby said VMF to a designated temperature in a box furnace, rolling saidheated SSM billet in a rolling mill to a desired thickness, and cuttingsaid rolled and heated SSM billet to size; said SP is configured toplace rolled SSM plate in a shear press and rough cutting said SSM plateto desired pre-CTE-tailoring dimensions; said HT is configured to loadsaid rough cut SSM plate into a tensioner, pulling said rough cut SSMplate along an axis to desired displacement to create a first and secondthermal expansion characteristic corresponding to a first and secondpredetermined range of coefficient of thermal expansion in a drawn SSMmaterial by deforming said SSM material, and using strain gauges undercontrol of said CCD to ensure a desired predetermined deformation; saidCCM is configured to machine sides of said drawn SSM material topredetermined dimensions and tolerances to form a CTE-tailored SSMplate; and said LC is configured to load said CTE-tailored plate into alaser cutter and cutting said CTE-tailored plate to a final form of saidTMP.
 2. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing systemof claim 1 wherein said metallic material comprises a material selectedfrom a group consisting of: (1) a material characterized by a generalformula Ti_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta,Pd, Pt, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 75 atomicpercent composition; (2) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al,Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(3) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf,Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (4) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Nb, Zr,Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 3. The controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing system of claim 1 wherein saiddeforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 4. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing system of claim 1 wherein said predetermined rangeof said coefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶K⁻¹ to+500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.
 5. The controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing system of claim 1 wherein said deforming of said metallicmaterial further comprises texturing said metallic material in adirection comprising at least one of a [111], a [100], or a [001]direction.
 6. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturingsystem of claim 1 wherein said second thermal expansion coefficient isnegative.
 7. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturingsystem of claim 1 wherein the sum of said first thermal expansioncoefficient and said second thermal expansion coefficient is zero. 8.The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing system of claim1 wherein: said deforming said metallic material comprises applyingtension in at least one direction; and said second thermal expansioncharacteristic subsequent to said deformation is in said at least onedirection.
 9. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturingsystem of claim 1 wherein: said deforming said metallic materialcomprises applying compression in a first direction; said second thermalexpansion characteristic subsequent to said deformation is in at leastone predetermined direction; and said at least one predetermineddirection is perpendicular to said first direction.
 10. The controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing system of claim 1 wherein:said deforming said metallic material comprises applying shear in afirst direction; said second thermal expansion characteristic subsequentto deformation is in at least one predetermined direction; and said atleast one predetermined direction is 45° to said first direction.
 11. Acontrolled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method comprising:(1) deforming a metallic material comprising a first phase and a firstthermal expansion characteristic having a first thermal expansioncoefficient; (2) transforming, in response to said deforming, at leastsome of said first phase into a second phase having a second thermalexpansion coefficient; and (3) orienting said metallic material in atleast one predetermined orientation; wherein: said second phasecomprises martensite; said metallic material, subsequent to deformation,comprises a second thermal expansion characteristic having a secondthermal expansion coefficient; said second thermal expansion coefficientis within a predetermined range; and said second thermal expansioncharacteristic is in at least one predetermined direction.
 12. Thecontrolled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim 11wherein said metallic material comprises a material selected from agroup consisting of: (1) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, orcombinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percentcomposition; (2) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al,Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(3) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf,Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (4) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Nb, Zr,Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 13. The controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim 11 whereinsaid deforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 14. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing method of claim 11 wherein said predeterminedrange of said coefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶K⁻¹to +500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.
 15. The controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method of claim 11 wherein said deforming of said metallicmaterial further comprises texturing said metallic material in adirection comprising at least one of a [111], a [100], or a direction.16. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method ofclaim 11 wherein said second thermal expansion coefficient is negative.17. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method ofclaim 11 wherein the sum of said first thermal expansion coefficient andsaid second thermal expansion coefficient is zero.
 18. The controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim 11 wherein:said deforming said metallic material comprises applying tension in atleast one direction; and said second thermal expansion characteristicsubsequent to said deformation is in said at least one direction. 19.The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim11 wherein: said deforming said metallic material comprises applyingcompression in a first direction; said second thermal expansioncharacteristic subsequent to said deformation is in at least onepredetermined direction; and said at least one predetermined directionis perpendicular to said first direction.
 20. The controlled thermalcoefficient product manufacturing method of claim 11 wherein: saiddeforming said metallic material comprises applying shear in a firstdirection; said second thermal expansion characteristic subsequent todeformation is in at least one predetermined direction; and said atleast one predetermined direction is 45° to said first direction.
 21. Acontrolled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method comprising:(1) deforming a metallic material substantially comprising a first phaseby applying tension in a first direction; and (2) transforming saidmetallic material via application of said tension from said first phaseinto a second phase; wherein: said metallic material, subsequent todeformation, exhibits a negative thermal expansion characteristic havinga negative coefficient of thermal expansion within a predeterminedrange; and said negative coefficient of thermal expansion is in at leastsaid first direction.
 22. The controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method of claim 21 wherein said metallic materialcomprises a material selected from a group consisting of: (1) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (2) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O orcombinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percentcomposition, and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B is less than 100; (3) a material characterized by ageneral formula Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one ofAl, Sn, Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition,and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that Aplus B is less than 100; (4) a material characterized by a generalformula Ti_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn,Nb, Zr, Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations thereof,and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is ina range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B isless than 100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais less than 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 23. The controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim 21 whereinsaid deforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 24. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing method of claim 21 wherein said predeterminedrange of said coefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶K⁻¹to +500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.
 25. The controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method of claim 21 wherein said deforming of said metallicmaterial further comprises texturing said metallic material in adirection comprising at least one of a [111], a [100], or a direction.26. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method ofclaim 21 wherein: said tension is applied in a second direction; saidnegative thermal expansion characteristic is in said second direction.27. A controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing methodcomprising: (1) deforming a metallic material substantially comprising afirst phase; and (2) transforming at least some of said metallicmaterial from said first phase to a second phase using a compressiveforce in a first direction; wherein: said metallic material, subsequentto said deformation, comprises a negative thermal expansioncharacteristic having a negative coefficient of thermal expansion withina predetermined range; and said negative thermal expansioncharacteristic, subsequent to said deformation, is in at least a seconddirection, wherein said second direction is perpendicular to said firstdirection.
 28. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturingmethod of claim 27 wherein said metallic material comprises a materialselected from a group consisting of: (1) a material characterized by ageneral formula Ti_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is at least one of Ni, Nb,Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to75 atomic percent composition; (2) a material characterized by a generalformula Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Pd, Hf,Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (3) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf,Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (4) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Nb, Zr,Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 29. The controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim 27 whereinsaid deforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 30. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing method of claim 27 wherein said predeterminedrange of said coefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶K⁻¹to +500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.
 31. The controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method of claim 27 wherein said deforming of said metallicmaterial further comprises texturing said metallic material in adirection comprising at least one of a [111], a [100], or a direction.32. The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method ofclaim 27 further comprising thermal expansion of said metallic materialin a third direction, said third direction being perpendicular to saidfirst direction.
 33. The controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method of claim 27 further comprising combining saiddeformed metallic material with another material to form atwo-dimensional composite material, said another material being at leastone of a polymer and a ceramic.
 34. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing method of claim 27 further comprising combiningsaid deformed metallic material into with another material to form oneof a two-dimensional and a three-dimensional composite material.
 35. Thecontrolled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim 27wherein said composite material comprises at least one ceramic, polymer,or second metallic material, or combinations thereof, said secondmetallic material being different than said deformed metallic material.36. A controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing methodcomprising: (1) deforming a metallic material; and (2) orienting saidmetallic material in at least one predetermined orientation in responseto said deforming; wherein: said metallic material comprises amartensitic phase; said metallic material exhibits a first thermalexpansion characteristic having a first thermal expansion coefficientprior to said deformation; said metallic material, subsequent todeformation, exhibits a second thermal expansion characteristic having asecond thermal expansion coefficient; said second thermal expansioncoefficient is within a predetermined range; and said second thermalexpansion characteristic is in at least one predetermined direction. 37.The controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim36 wherein said metallic material comprises a material selected from agroup consisting of: (1) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, orcombinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percentcomposition; (2) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al,Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(3) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf,Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (4) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Nb, Zr,Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 38. The controlledthermal coefficient product manufacturing method of claim 36 whereinsaid deforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 39. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing method of claim 36 wherein said predeterminedrange of said coefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶K⁻¹to +500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.
 40. The controlled thermal coefficient productmanufacturing method of claim 36 wherein said deforming of said metallicmaterial further comprises texturing said metallic material in adirection comprising at least one of a [111], a [100], or a [001]direction.
 41. A controlled thermal coefficient product-by-processfabricated using a controlled thermal coefficient product manufacturingmethod, said method comprising: (1) deforming a metallic materialcomprising a first phase and a first thermal expansion characteristichaving a first thermal expansion coefficient; (2) transforming, inresponse to said deforming, at least some of said first phase into asecond phase having a second thermal expansion coefficient; and (3)orienting said metallic material in at least one predeterminedorientation; wherein: said second phase comprises martensite; saidmetallic material, subsequent to deformation, comprises a second thermalexpansion characteristic having a second thermal expansion coefficient;said second thermal expansion coefficient is within a predeterminedrange; and said second thermal expansion characteristic is in at leastone predetermined direction.
 42. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 41 wherein said metallic material comprisesa material selected from a group consisting of: (1) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (2) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O orcombinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percentcomposition, and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B is less than 100; (3) a material characterized by ageneral formula Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one ofAl, Sn, Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition,and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that Aplus B is less than 100; (4) a material characterized by a generalformula Ti_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn,Nb, Zr, Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, 0, or combinations thereof,and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is ina range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B isless than 100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 43. The controlledthermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 41 wherein saiddeforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 44. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 41 wherein said predetermined range of saidcoefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to +500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.
 45. The controlled thermal coefficient product-by-process of claim41 wherein said deforming of said metallic material further comprisestexturing said metallic material in a direction comprising at least oneof a [111], a [100], or a [001] direction.
 46. The controlled thermalcoefficient product-by-process of claim 41 wherein said second thermalexpansion coefficient is negative.
 47. The controlled thermalcoefficient product-by-process of claim 41 wherein the sum of said firstthermal expansion coefficient and said second thermal expansioncoefficient is zero.
 48. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 41 wherein: said deforming said metallicmaterial comprises applying tension in at least one direction; and saidsecond thermal expansion characteristic subsequent to said deformationis in said at least one direction.
 49. The controlled thermalcoefficient product-by-process of claim 41 wherein: said deforming saidmetallic material comprises applying compression in a first direction;said second thermal expansion characteristic subsequent to saiddeformation is in at least one predetermined direction; and said atleast one predetermined direction is perpendicular to said firstdirection.
 50. The controlled thermal coefficient product-by-process ofclaim 41 wherein: said deforming said metallic material comprisesapplying shear in a first direction; said second thermal expansioncharacteristic subsequent to deformation is in at least onepredetermined direction; and said at least one predetermined directionis 45° to said first direction.
 51. A controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process fabricated using a controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing method, said method comprising: (1) deforming ametallic material substantially comprising a first phase by applyingtension in a first direction; and (2) transforming said metallicmaterial via application of said tension from said first phase into asecond phase; wherein: said metallic material, subsequent todeformation, exhibits a negative thermal expansion characteristic havinga negative coefficient of thermal expansion within a predeterminedrange; and said negative coefficient of thermal expansion is in at leastsaid first direction.
 52. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 51 wherein said metallic material comprisesa material selected from a group consisting of: (1) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (2) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O orcombinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percentcomposition, and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B is less than 100; (3) a material characterized by ageneral formula Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one ofAl, Sn, Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition,and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that Aplus B is less than 100; (4) a material characterized by a generalformula Ti_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn,Nb, Zr, Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, 0, or combinations thereof,and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is ina range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B isless than 100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 53. The controlledthermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 51 wherein saiddeforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 54. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 51 wherein said predetermined range of saidcoefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to +500×10−6K⁻¹.
 55. The controlled thermal coefficient product-by-process of claim51 wherein said deforming of said metallic material further comprisestexturing said metallic material in a direction comprising at least oneof a [111], a [100], or a [001] direction.
 56. The controlled thermalcoefficient product-by-process of claim 51 wherein: said tension isapplied in a second direction; said negative thermal expansioncharacteristic is in said second direction.
 57. A controlled thermalcoefficient product-by-process fabricated using a controlled thermalcoefficient product manufacturing method, said method comprising: (1)deforming a metallic material substantially comprising a first phase;and (2) transforming at least some of said metallic material from saidfirst phase to a second phase using a compressive force in a firstdirection; wherein: said metallic material, subsequent to saiddeformation, comprises a negative thermal expansion characteristichaving a negative coefficient of thermal expansion within apredetermined range; and said negative thermal expansion characteristic,subsequent to said deformation, is in at least a second direction,wherein said second direction is perpendicular to said first direction.58. The controlled thermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 57wherein said metallic material comprises a material selected from agroup consisting of: (1) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is at least one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, orcombinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percentcomposition; (2) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al,Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(3) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Ta, Hf,Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (4) a material characterized by a general formulaTi_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn, Nb, Zr,Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 59. The controlledthermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 57 wherein saiddeforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 60. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 57 wherein said predetermined range of saidcoefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to+500×10⁻⁶K⁻¹.
 61. The controlled thermal coefficient product-by-processof claim 57 wherein said deforming of said metallic material furthercomprises texturing said metallic material in a direction comprising atleast one of a [111], a [100], or a [001] direction.
 62. The controlledthermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 57 further comprisingthermal expansion of said metallic material in a third direction, saidthird direction being perpendicular to said first direction.
 63. Thecontrolled thermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 57 furthercomprising combining said deformed metallic material with anothermaterial to form a two-dimensional composite material, said anothermaterial being at least one of a polymer and a ceramic.
 64. Thecontrolled thermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 57 furthercomprising combining said deformed metallic material into with anothermaterial to form one of a two-dimensional and a three-dimensionalcomposite material.
 65. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 57 wherein said composite material comprisesat least one ceramic, polymer, or second metallic material, orcombinations thereof, said second metallic material being different thansaid deformed metallic material.
 66. A controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process fabricated using a controlled thermal coefficientproduct manufacturing method, said method comprising: (1) deforming ametallic material; and (2) orienting said metallic material in at leastone predetermined orientation in response to said deforming; wherein:said metallic material comprises a martensitic phase; said metallicmaterial exhibits a first thermal expansion characteristic having afirst thermal expansion coefficient prior to said deformation; saidmetallic material, subsequent to deformation, exhibits a second thermalexpansion characteristic having a second thermal expansion coefficient;said second thermal expansion coefficient is within a predeterminedrange; and said second thermal expansion characteristic is in at leastone predetermined direction.
 67. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 66 wherein said metallic material comprisesa material selected from a group consisting of: (1) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Ni, Nb, Mo, Ta, Pd, Pt, or combinations thereof, and A isin a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (2) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ti_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Pd, Hf, Zr, Al, Pt, Au, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, O orcombinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percentcomposition, and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B is less than 100; (3) a material characterized by ageneral formula Ti_(100-A-B)Nb_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one ofAl, Sn, Ta, Hf, Zr, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Mo, V, 0, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition,and B is in a range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that Aplus B is less than 100; (4) a material characterized by a generalformula Ti_(100-A-B)Ta_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Al, Sn,Nb, Zr, Mo, Al, Au, Pt, Fe, Co, Cr, Hf, V, O, or combinations thereof,and A is in a range from 0 to 55 atomic percent composition, and B is ina range from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition such that A plus B isless than 100; (5) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al,Sb, Co, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (6) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Ni_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Co_(B)X_(C),wherein X is at least one of Ga, In, Sn, Al, Sb, or combinationsthereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, Bis in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and C is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B plus Cis less than 100; (7) a material characterized by a general formulaNi_(100-A-B)Fe_(A)Ga_(B) wherein A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (8) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A)X_(A), wherein X is atleast one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Al, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 75 atomic percent composition; (9) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Cu_(100-A-B)Al_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Zn, Ni, Mn, Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a range from0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than 100;(10) a material characterized by a general formulaCu_(100-A-B-C)Mn_(A)Al_(B)X_(C), wherein X is at least one of Zn, Ni,Be, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, and C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent compositionsuch that A plus B plus C is less than 100; (11) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Co_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Al, Ga, Sn, Sb, In, or combinations thereof, and A is ina range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in a rangefrom 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is less than100; (12) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B)Mn_(A)X_(B), wherein X is at least one of Ga, Ni, Co, Al,Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50 atomicpercent composition, and B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition such that A plus B is less than 100; (13) a materialcharacterized by a general formula Fe_(100-A-B)Ni_(A)X_(B), wherein X isat least one of Ga, Mn, Co, Al, Ta, Si, or combinations thereof, and Ais in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition, and B is in arange from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such that A plus B is lessthan 100; (14) a material characterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Al_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Ti,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than 100; and (15) a materialcharacterized by a general formulaFe_(100-A-B-C)Ni_(A)Co_(B)Ti_(C)X_(D), wherein X is at least one of Al,Ta, Nb, Cr, W or combinations thereof, and A is in a range from 0 to 50atomic percent composition, B is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percentcomposition, C is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition,and D is in a range from 0 to 50 atomic percent composition such thatsuch that A plus B plus C plus D is less than
 100. 68. The controlledthermal coefficient product-by-process of claim 66 wherein saiddeforming is achieved by at least one of: (1) hot-rolling; (2)cold-rolling; (3) wire drawing; (4) plain strain compression; (5)bi-axial tension; (6) conform processing; (7) bending; (8) drawing; (9)wire-drawing; (10) swaging; (11) conventional extrusion; (12) equalchannel angular extrusion; (13) precipitation heat treatment understress; (14) tempering; (15) annealing; (16) sintering; (17) monotonictension processing; (18) monotonic compression processing; (19)monotonic torsion processing; (20) cyclic thermal training under stress;and (21) combinations thereof.
 69. The controlled thermal coefficientproduct-by-process of claim 66 wherein said predetermined range of saidcoefficient of thermal expansion ranges from −150×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ to+500×10−6K⁻¹.
 70. The controlled thermal coefficient product-by-processof claim 66 wherein said deforming of said metallic material furthercomprises texturing said metallic material in a direction comprising atleast one of a [111], a [100], or a [001] direction.